Vampire Money
by Copperpelt
Summary: Hidden within the dark recesses of the city hides a horrifying secret; vampires. But there is more to them than just their fangs. These vampires, led by a powerful overlord, have dug their claws deep within the drug rings of the city with their own potent concoctions. And when a drug war erupts by the hands of a rather displeased ex-customer, Shun gets caught in the middle. R&R PLZ
1. Hot Blooded

_~O~_

The sun beat down on the city streets, causing waves of heat to rise up in waves that reached up to Shun's knees. He didn't mind the heat that much though; years of training in similar conditions had made sure that no weather condition troubled him. But despite how used he was to drastic weather changes, the sweltering heat on that day was proving to be almost be even too much for him to handle.

The sad thing was that the sun hadn't even reached its highest spot in the sky, which meant that the day was long from over, and that the temperature would only rise from there. He sighed and kept on walking down the sidewalk until he reached his designated location; the local drug store.

Shun stood in front of the automatic sliding doors, and when they slid open, he was hit with a welcoming rush of cold, industrial air-conditioning. A slight smile formed on his lips as he stepped inside; he never thought that artificial air would feel so good.

The sliding doors closed behind him when he was out of their motion-activated reach, and with their closing, the hot air of summer was locked outside where it belonged. Shun then reached down into his pocket and pulled out a yellow sheet of note paper.

A small list was written in his grandfather's sloppy handwriting, which Shun still had trouble reading at times. He groaned as he set out into the store in search for his grandfather's requests. Running mundane errands wasn't really on his agenda for the day, but the old man had gotten up in his years, and getting out and about was becoming a chore for the elderly man.

And because of that, Shun was nominated to do the old man's shopping and such. It wasn't like it was really out of Shun's way to help his grandfather out, but it was starting to get rather inconvenient at times. That day was a good example; with the miserable weather that the city had been experiencing that week, leaving the cool comfort of the house was a nightmare.

But there were things on the list that needed to be gotten, so Shun had no other choice but to brave the intense heat. He walked down the aisles of the store, checking the signs that hung from the ceiling to see if there was anything that was needed down that particular row.

He glanced up at another sign and saw that several of the items on his list were located there, and headed down the aisle. It took Shun a moment to find the certain brands that his grandfather would use; any other brand was unacceptable. "Picky old fool," Shun growled to himself as his aggravation started to mount.

Or maybe it was the heat that was starting to make his blood boil. After a few more minutes of searching, he finally found what he was looking for. Naturally, they were sitting right in front of him. _Definitely the heat, _he thought to himself as he tossed the items into the shopping basket.

Shun looked down at the list and scratched off the recently acquired items off. "Shun?" a soft voice asked from his right. He looked up and found Alice standing at the end of the aisle, a bright smile on her face. Shun found himself caught off guard and surprised to see Alice in such a place; last he had heard of her whereabouts, she was back in Russia with her grandfather, helping out with one of latest projects.

She hurried over to him and wrapped Shun in a hug, the shopping basket in her hands bumping against his back. Shun hugged her back and took in the scent of her shampoo that he had always found pleasant; lavender. She broke their hug first and said, "It's so great to see you again!"

Shun smiled down at her and said back, "It's good to see you too, but I thought you were living with your grandfather again. Why are you back here, if you don't mind me asking?" Alice brushed one of her orange locks of hair out of her face and replied, "Runo and the rest of the old gang wanted to catch back up for old time's sake, so they had Marucho get me tickets to fly back here. So, here I am."

Shun rested the shopping basket that he held in his hands in the crook of his elbow so the small, metal handle would stop digging into his palm. "Oh, yeah. I think Dan sent me a message a while back saying that they were planning on getting everyone back together. I suppose that I've been so busy looking out for Grandfather that it must have slipped my mind."

Shun wasn't exaggerating when he mentioned being busy taking care of his grandfather. On top of the errands, he also had to make sure that the old man didn't slip and break something, as well as making sure the house was kept in shape. In other words, the old man was still running him ragged, just not with training like it had been a long time ago.

Alice's smile faded a bit when she asked, "How is your grandfather doing anyway?" Shun ran a hand through his hair and told her, "He's doing fine. He's just getting on up in his years and can't get around like he used to. I remember when I thought that would have been a blessing. Man, was I ever wrong." Alice giggled at his little attempt at humor.

It was rare for Shun to make small jokes like that, but he always found that it was easy to tell them to Alice. Perhaps because she appreciated his uncommon sense of humor and actually laughed, while in Dan's case, the brunette would have totally missed the sarcasm altogether.

Shun returned his focus back to the conversation at hand and asked, "I should be asking you the same thing. How's Michaels doing?" Alice waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "You know my grandfather. I think the only reason he'll stop inventing is when he finally passes away. Hopefully that will be a long time from now, though."

Shun nodded in agreement. If there was one thing he envied out of all of his friends, it was Alice's relationship with her grandfather. He had wished for the longest time that they could coexist like she and Michaels did, but Shun knew better. There was too much bad blood between him and his grandfather for things to change now.

Regardless, Shun couldn't say that he hated the old man. It was true that they didn't see eye-to-eye all the time, but they were still family; the only family that they had left. It was only natural that they put up with each other and look out for one another.

Shun's eyes drifted past Alice and fell on a wall clock behind her. He saw the time and realized that he was way past the time that he should have been heading back home. "I'm sorry I can't stay any longer and finish catching up, but I really need to get going before it gets any later.

It was really nice talking to you again, Alice." The orange-haired girl smiled at him and said, "Same here, Shun. Hey, stop by Marucho's house some time. I should be there for a while, and I'm sure everyone would be happy to have the whole group together again."

Shun smiled back and said, "Alright, I will." He turned on his heels and hurried towards the cash register so he could get back home before the old man pitched a fit.

_~O~_

It's about a two hours walk from the house Shun shared with his grandfather to the city, so by the time he got back home, the sun was already starting to set. Shun hated that the old man refused to buy a car. One reason for his grandfather's apprehension was that he didn't like the idea of driving the metal contraption.

The other reason was that the walking was a way to stay in shape; Shun didn't realize this till years into his training, and he had hated his grandfather for the conniving plot. When Shun walked up to the front door of the house, he checked the clock on his phone before opening the door.

He had just barely made it back in time to slide past the old man nagging him about taking too long to go and get a couple of items. Shun turned the knob and set the plastic bag of groceries on the kitchen table, then shouted into the house, "I'm back!"

Slowly, his grandfather rounded the corner and enter into the kitchen, leaning heavily on the wooden cane in his right hand. It was somewhat sad seeing the old man move around like some ancient relic, depending on a stick to just stand on his own.

But there was no way to stop time and the aging process; all that could be done was let nature take its course, and then eventually let it take his grandfather with it. Shun had thought for a long time about whether or not he would be heartbroken when his grandfather died.

Back when he was younger and in the beginning of his training, he probably would have been happy, despite how much of a bad person it would have made him. But after years of being stuck with the old man and realizing that they only had each other as family, Shun's hostile feelings had faded away into a distant memory.

Now, the raven-haired boy was sure he would grieve over the loss of the old man when that time came. His grandfather had moved past him and was rummaging through the plastic bags on the table, grumbling to himself. Shun crossed his arms over his chest and said, "What are you griping about now?"

The old man turned to face him and said curtly, "You didn't pick up my medicine at the pharmacy." Shun stared at him for a moment, then dug out the list that had been given to him before he left out. He scanned over each marked out item, searching high and low for the old man's script.

"You didn't put your medicines on the list. How was I supposed to know that you needed them?" he asked and handed the list to his grandfather for proof. The old man tossed the list on the table and said shortly, "I told you before I left that I needed my prescription refilled when you went up there. I assumed you were listening to me for once in your life."

Shun narrowed his eyes at his grandfather; the old man was obviously in one of his legendary moods. But Shun wasn't going to allow his grandfather's bitterness to get him worked up. Instead, he asked, "Do you have any of your pills leftover?"

The old man painstakingly sat down at the kitchen table and replied gruffly, "No. I told you that as well. Do you even bother to listen to what I say?" Shun rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of aggravation. His grandfather would need that medicine, for the pills were for the arthritis that had set into his aging joints, and without them, the old man would be in pain and unable to do anything for himself.

Shun quickly realized he would have to go back into town and hopefully make it to the drug store in time before they closed down for the night, or else he would have to hear his grandfather give him hell for it until the pills were back in his hands.

"Fine. I'll hurry back into town and try to get your medicine before they close. But you will have to lecture me later if you want them by the end of the night." His grandfather let out a huff of air and said, "You better hurry then, before my patience wears thin." Shun let out a heavy sign and walked out of the house, only to return to the path towards the city.

_~O~_

Shun just barely made it to the pharmacy in time. When he got there, the lady behind the counter was pulling down the metal grate used to lock up the medicine that resided behind the counter. Thankfully, the woman was generous enough to stop locking up and fill the old man's prescription.

Shun graciously thanked her and paid what he owed for his grandfather's medicine. As he walked out of the store, he was hit by the cool night air. It would have been a pleasant night, had it not been for the humidity that clung to everything it could wrap its hands around.

Shun could already feel his hair trying to frizz out. He sighed in aggravation, knowing how difficult was to get his hair back to normal after being exposed to this much humidity. He decided to worry about that when he got back home, and stuffed his grandfather's prescription in his pant's pocket so he wouldn't have to carry it back on the long journey back home.

Shun walked down the sidewalk, which was now void of almost all activity. This didn't settle right with him for some reason. Usually, the sidewalks of the city were bustling with people, even at night. But they were almost desolate now.

This strange occurrence left Shun with a eerie feeling running down his spine as his instincts told him something was wrong with this scenario. But he pushed those feelings down, telling himself that it was just paranoia, and continued on his way home.

He was about halfway there when something down an alleyway caught his eye. Shun stopped and looked down into the dark alley, but couldn't find what had caught his attention. Right when he was about to play it off as a stray animal, he heard talking coming from the shadows.

"Pl-please," someone begged, "don't d-do this. I-I can come up with the money in a week, I s-swear." Somebody laughed humorlessly and said, "You've had months to pay us back, and I'm afraid that your payment day is long overdue. And you know that the only way to repay us is with your blood."

Shun tensed up at the conversation he had stumbled upon. Was somebody really about to commit murder? Shun shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. Reason told him to go and leave before he got hurt in the crossfire and to call the police and report the disturbance.

But something else was screaming inside of him to act, to stop what was within his power and ability to stop. He had the fighting skills that would allow him to hold his own against an assailant, whether the person had a gun, knife, or some other kind of weapon.

Shun was torn on what he should do; run, or fight to save whoever was about to die in the shadows by the hands of a man whose face was hidden in those very shadows? Before he even had a chance to come up with an answer, Shun heard a sickening gurgling sound, followed by something falling to the ground with a thud. His eyes grew wide, and he knew what had just happened.

Shun found himself unable to move from the spot he stood in. His mind was unable to comprehend what had just happened. Suddenly, two shining gold eyes looked at him through the shadows; they reminded Shun of that of a cat's eyes.

The cat-eyed figure then started to walk out from the alley towards Shun, the mystery person's eyes glowing feral and predator-like. Shun felt his body tense up further, yet, he couldn't find it in him to run; he was struck down with fear for the first time in his life.

This person was going to try and kill him, that was quite obvious. Shun could see himself suffering the same fate as whoever met their fate in the depths of the shadows. The murderer stepped from the darkness and into the light of a nearby streetlamp.

Shun felt his legs grow weak beneath him, and he stumbled back, landing on the ground in shock at the site before him, wishing that this creature had stayed hidden away out of sight. The man with golden cat eyes was covered in blood up to his elbows and around his mouth.

The crimson liquid dripped from sharp nails at the end of his fingertips. "Looks like I had a bit of an unwanted audience," the man said and licked the blood from his index finger. Shun saw a flash of pointed canines in the man's mouth that protruded out further than they should on any regular person.

The man finished cleaning his fingers of the blood, making it look like there had never been any signs of murder staining his skin. Shun could feel his heart racing frantically with adrenaline. He should have just run when he heard the conversation. He should have just called the cops and reported what he had heard instead of standing around and considering being the hero.

The man's golden eyes suddenly flashed a brighter shade of gold, which only made them look more primordial. "Quite the terrified one, aren't you? I can hear your heart beating loud and clear all the way from here," the killed purred, and a look of amusement flashed across his face.

Shun was trembling with fear now. This wasn't how he wanted to die. He didn't want to be brutally slaughtered by some freak and then have his blood licked off his killer's hands like it was some kind of delicious sauce.

The man knelt right down in front of Shun, blood still dripping from his lips, and said, "It's a real shame I can't just kill you right here. The conditions are perfect for it, unless somebody else happens to stumble upon me and overhears like you did. In that case, I would just kill them too in order to cover myself. But sadly, I can't do that. I have to take you to my boss first and see if he can find any usefulness in you."

The man then lashed out and grabbed a hold of Shun's neck, making the raven-haired youth look him right in the face. Shun tried to make a noise to signal for help, but when he did, the man's grip only tightened on his windpipe further, muting the cry for help.

"No, I don't think so. You're not going to get out that easily," the attacker hissed. The man's eyes then started to glow an even brighter color of gold, so much that Shun couldn't help but stare at the unnatural hue.

But when he made eye contact with the monster than loomed over him, he felt like his brain was suddenly stunned, a heavy fog shrouded his thoughts and distorting what was real and what was a trick of the mind. Shortly after that, his vision started to grow fuzzy, and eventually went black altogether.

* * *

_Story based off the song Vampire Money by MCR. _Well, here we go again. There was a tie between this story and another, so I picked this one out of the two, since I wanted to do this one more than the other. As you all may have noticed, I want to do every kind of story possible (at least in the supernatural category).

I've done Grim Reapers, Werewolves, Demons, etc. Now, it's time for vampires to have their own Copperpelt twist put on them. Well, I'm going to try and put my own twist on them. For the most part, vampires don't have much left to be done with, so bear with me on this if things start turning into a typical vampire story with some typical vampire story scenarios.

Again, there is only so much that can be done. I am also experimenting with this P.O.V. again, seeing as I liked writing in that style in my previous story. After this story is finished, I might go on a short hiatus, or break. Reason being, I don't know when this story will be finished, and I have a lot coming up.

Over the summer, I will be spending half of June in Florida, then going out of town for band camp to get ready for my trip to Germany, which will take up half of my July. When I get back from that, I have regular band camp and then school starts.

During that time, I am planning on entering a writing contest, so some of my time will most likely go into working on my submission. As you all can tell, my next few months will be jam-packed with stuff, and won't leave much time to write on my fanfictions.

But don't worry, I'm not leaving anytime soon (although, after my senior year and when I go off to college, updates might become very few and far between). But I'll still try and update as often as I can. This is just a head's up on what to expect in the coming months. So, please do read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


	2. Transfusion

_~O~_

"Sir, there's something you might want to come and see," a voice said from the doorway. Sinclair turned around in his chair to face a man with ear-length black hair and purple eyes. "And what might that be, Alucard?" Sinclair asked with a calm demeanor and slight grin. The black-haired man stood up a bit straighter now that his superior was facing him and said, "It appears that Slay has brought something back with him from his last mission."

Sinclair felt his interest pique. "Brought something back, you say?" he asked smoothly and intertwined his fingers together while never once taking his gaze away from the black-haired man. Alucard closed his violet eyes and nodded.

"It appears he has brought back a human," the second-in-command said flatly. Sinclair felt himself tense up. "A human?" Sinclair practically spat. It wasn't that the Vampire Lord had any kind of hatred of humans; they were his business, after all. It was more the fact that Slay, their personal hit-man, had been bold enough to bring one back to their hidden lair. "Where is Slay and our…..Guest?" Sinclair inquired.

Alucard glanced over his shoulder down the hallway and replied, "They should still be in the main room, my Lord." Sinclair stood up from the chair behind his mahogany desk and strode past Alucard. The black-haired man followed shortly behind the Vampire Lord like an obedient dog.

It took several minutes for Sinclair to navigate his way through the multitudes of cavernous pathways that made up his underground enclave that wasn't only his base of operations, but also the place that he took up residency in. But nonetheless, he made it to the main room faster than any mere human would have been able to walk.

Once he entered into the large cavern, which was lined with dimly lit torches and adorned with several paintings of all of the great Vampire Lords, he found Slay standing in the middle of the space, holding the human by the nape of it neck like a small, insignificant animal.

By the way the human's body remained limp and offered no resistance, Sinclair could only come to the conclusion that Slay had used his mind control abilities to make the human more…Cooperative. When Slay saw the Vampire Lord enter the room, he let go of the human, causing it to fall onto the cold, unforgiving ground.

He then quickly said, "He witnessed me taking care of one of our clients. I would have killed him to make sure he stayed quiet, but I thought it might be best to take it out with you first." Sinclair nodded and knelt down beside the human to examine their unexpected guest more closely.

Raven-black hair obscured most of the unconscious boy's face. "It looks like you went a bit overboard with knocking him out, Slay," Sinclair pointed out as his delicate senses picked up on how deeply asleep the human was. Slay stuffed his hands into his pockets and said with a shrug, "I didn't really feel like dealing with any kind of struggle tonight, so I took extra precautions.

It was either this or tear his throat out." Sinclair cut a glare up at Slay without the assassin noticing. Slay was a handful at times, and sometimes went overboard, but he did a good job of recollecting debts that were long past due. The Vampire Lord turned his attention back to the still-sleeping human.

He brought a hand down and brushed the black locks of hair out of the way to get a better look at the human's face. The human was still very young, not even to the point to where he could have been considered a full adult; by neither human, nor Vampire standards.

Sinclair pulled his hand away from the human's face and mused, "Humans….They're such beautifully delicate creatures." He had always been awed by the fragility of the human race. It was the only species he knew of that could fight so savagely, and yet, be killed so easily.

The Vampire Lord stood up and while looking down at the human, asked himself, "Now, what should we do with him?" From behind, Sinclair heard Alucard speak up. "I say we just go ahead and drain him of his blood and add it into the supply. We've been running low, and the clients are demanding more and more every day."

Sinclair's lip curled up into a slight, undetectable grin, but not at Alucard's suggestion. No. He was smiling at something else entirely. "I hate to tell you this, Alucard, but that will not work," a voice said from the shadows. The owner of those words revealed stepped into the dim light of the torches that hung on the stone walls.

It was Loran, one of the two Vampire brothers that were a part of Sinclair's organization. Loran, perhaps one of the youngest of the group, looked across the room and locked his gray eyes onto Alucard's purple ones and pointed out, "This human's blood is not adequate for our clients' demands because his blood is Bad." Sinclair saw Alucard's eyes narrow at Loran, and this only made the Vampire Lord's grin widen even more; he absolutely loved watching Alucard mess up from time to time.

"Very good point, Loran," Sinclair said through his grin and allowed his eyes to fall back onto their guest, "The taste for Bad Blood is rather a rare one, so all his blood would do is sit in storage and turn rancid. Draining him is nothing but a waste of time and energy."

Bad Blood was a term that was used within Sinclair's group; it was nothing more than the blood from somebody of a good nature, one who could never do any wrong. Good Blood came from people of twisted personalities, criminals, and other wrongdoers.

The names and meaning of those two terms were ironic, but it was the best way to describe the anomaly that occurred with personality and blood. For whatever reason, people with so-called Good Blood seemed to have a sour taste that made their blood more desirable….And addictive.

In all of Sinclair's time on the Earth, he may have encountered only two or three Vampires that had a taste for Bad Blood; it truly was a rare taste for the pallet. Sinclair turned to face Loran and asked, "Do you have any suggestion as to what we should do with our guest then? We can't exactly let him go. Not after he witnessed our business first-hand."

Loran looked down at the human and said, "Perhaps it would be best if we Turned him. We've been short-staffed lately anyway, and an extra set of hands could bring in more profit from the streets." Sinclair caught a glimpse of Alucard rolling his purple eyes before the second-in-commanded snarled, "Looks like the Humanitarian of Vampires has come out to play again."

Loran narrowed his eyes at Alucard, and the two remained with their gazes locked for a moment as if their eternal lives depended on staring the other down. It was common knowledge to know that Alucard didn't get along well with most of the Vampires that were a part of the organization, but it was clear that he despised Loran the most. Sinclair clapped his hands together and said, "Alright, then.

It looks like our only choice is to turn him. Any volunteers?" Nobody spoke up to take on the task. Slay, who had moved to the furthest part of the room, sneered, "I don't want to be responsible for that creature. I didn't even really want to carry him back here."

The assassin then exited out of the room, having said what he wanted to say. Sinclair then turned and looked at the rest of his Vampires. "Well? Will there be no takers?" he asked. Again, nobody spoke up. A grin formed on the Vampire Lords lips and he adverted his gaze back down to the unconscious human. "Looks like I'll be his Donor then," he said nonchalantly.

Alucard broke from his staring contest with Loran and looked at Sinclair with shocked eyes. "But, Sir. That will the be the first human you've ever turned. You know that-" Sinclair raised his hand and cut off Alucard before he could finish and said, "I know very well what that means. Being that I am one of the highest Nobilities left on the face of the Earth, and seeing as how I have never been a Donor to a human, my blood is still very potent and powerful. And I also know that because of the strength and purity of my blood, it may be too much for this human to handle.

It could kill him. But what if it does kill him? Then we won't have to worry about him telling everyone what he saw tonight, not that anyone would believe him. Regardless of whether or not he survives the Transition, we won't have to worry about him giving away our secret."

Alucard remained silent after that, and Sinclair turned his purplish-gray eyes down to the human that still laid on the floor by his feet. He knelt down beside the sleeping boy's form and waved his long fingers in front of the human's face. "I'm afraid I need you awake for this," he said as he used his powers to reverse Slay's mind control power.

When the Vampire Lord broke through the fog that surrounded the human's mind, he watched as the boy's eyes slowly forced themselves open. The human tried to sit up, but it was clear that he was still slightly under the effects of Slay's power, and was unable to push himself up into a sitting position.

The raven-haired boy looked up at Sinclair with distant, confused eyes. The Vampire Lord smiled down at the helpless human, greatly amused by the blissful ignorance that was gracing the human; for if the boy was aware of what was going on around him, all hell would have broken loose by now.

Sinclair reached out and grabbed the human's arm and turned it over so the inside of his elbow was facing up. The human only looked at the Vampire Lord in a intoxicated-like trance. Sinclair then pressed the end of a razor-sharp fingernail on the vein that ran up the human's arm, and pierced through the skin, leaving behind a gash about two inches long.

The human, even though he was still out of it, flinched back at the pain and tried to jerk his arm away. But Sinclair kept a tight hold on the boy's arm until he calmed down. Blood poured out of the wound like a river and began to cover the stone floor.

Around them, Sinclair knew that his Vampires were probably eyeing the blood greedily; it was good thing they had enough control to refrain from pouncing on the defenseless human. Sinclair then used the same nail he had used to cut open the boy's arm, and planted an incision of his own on the inside of his palm.

Beautiful crimson liquid dripped from the clean cut and down the Vampire Lord's wrist and arm. He then placed his bleeding palm on the open wound of the human's arm, and he could feel their blood mingling for a moment until the Vampire Lord's potent blood overwhelmed that of the inferior human's.

When that happened, Sinclair could feel his own blood flooding into the human's body, polluting and turning it into something that should not be. The combining of blood must have been stronger than Sinclair thought it would be, for the dazed look in the human's eyes suddenly vanished, and two aware, amber pools replaced those of somebody who was still under the influence of Vampire power.

The boy snatched his bleeding arm out from under Sinclair's palm and jumped to his feet, clutching tightly to the gash that still poured crimson body fluids. "What…What the hell is going on!" the human shouted, his voice echoing off the cavern walls.

Sinclair was oddly reminded by the boy of a wounded animal that was cornered and had no other instinct but to try and lash out with all its might. The Vampire Lord stood up and licked his bleeding palm so the wound would close and heal. "Don't get worked up please," Sinclair said in a blasé tone, "It won't do anyone any good."

The human's eyes were ablaze with fear and a will to fight in order to survive. But that will wasn't going to do him much good; not against Vampires, at least. Sinclair took several steps towards the frightened human and said, "I assure you that you will be informed of what is going on, all in good time."

The human had continued to back up until he bumped into the wall, cornering himself. He clutched tighter on the bleeding wound in his arm, and blood oozed out from in between his fingers, down his forearm, off his fingertips, and onto the floor; Sinclair hadn't thought he had gotten the main artery that good.

The human then started to use the wall as a means to hold himself up, and the Vampire Lord could see the boy's legs wobbling beneath him. "Wh-what did…What did you do…..To me?" the human wheezed. Sinclair could see the raven-haired boy struggling to stand, and the only thing he could figure was that the Transition was starting.

Normally, a human who has been infected by a Vampire doesn't experience symptoms of the Transition until several hours after contamination. But since Sinclair's blood was so powerful from his Nobel heritage, there was a great possibility that it was speeding up the process of the Transition, causing it to happen sooner than normal.

The human then pitched forward, collapsing on the stone ground in a trembling heap. Alucard appeared by Sinclair's side and said, "I tried to tell you that you're blood was probably too much for his body to handle. By the looks of it, and in my opinion, it will be a miracle if that human survives the night with your blood in his system."

Alucard then walked out of the main room, only to vanish somewhere down a neighboring hallway. Sinclair ignored his second-in-command's words and knelt down beside the trembling human and was surprised to see that the color had already begun to drain from the boy's face, making him look like he was one step closer to death.

The Vampire Lord narrowed his eyes and turned to the rest of the Vampires in the room and told them, "Please, do take my guest to a room where he will be more comfortable during this time."

* * *

HAPPY FRIDAY, EVERYONE! TIME TO ENJOY THE WEEKEND! Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	3. Addictions

_~O~_

After getting their "guest" settled into a room, Sinclair returned to his office, surprised to find Alucard standing beside the mahogany desk. A sly grin formed on Sinclair's lips as he said, "You know, you really need to watch what you say. You almost got exposed back there."

His second-in-command tensed up and adverted his gaze away from Sinclair; this only amused the Vampire Lord further. "Shut it, Sinclair," Alucard snapped defensively. Sinclair chuckled darkly and mused, "Such informal language to use towards your superior, don't' you think?"

The Vampire Lord hopped up on the side of his desk and took a seat. Papers shifted beneath him, and a few fell onto the floor, but neither one of the Vampires bothered to pick them up at the moment. Sinclair looked down at his fingernails, as if there were something interesting about them, and said, "What do you think the others in my Clan would think if they found out you were some Vampire-Human mutt, and not a Pure Nobel like you've made yourself out to be?"

Alucard turned to face Sinclair and slammed his hands onto the desk, knocking over pencil holders. "Don't you even say that, Sinclair!" he snarled. The Vampire Lord chuckled with amusement. How he loved these rare chances to poke and prod at Alucard's mind and break him down.

The thing about Alucard was that even though he claimed to be a Pure Nobel, much like Sinclair, but that wasn't the case. He was nothing more than the bi-product of a human and Vampire. Normally, this kind of thing could be picked up on the senses of other Vampires, since the smell of a Nobel's blood was much different from that of one with a mixture of blood from the two different species.

The only thing that worked for a camouflage of Alucard's scent, was the fact that the Vampire who fathered him was of a high-ranking, Pure Nobility. The was enough to keep the human blood in him masked from the sensitive noses of other Vampires. But Sinclair wondered just how reckless and forgetful Alucard could be.

That night was a perfect example. Because of the second-in-command's heritage, he also lacked many abilities that Vampires had; including the ability to distinguish between Good and Bad Blood. Alucard's hands were tightened into fists at his sides.

"If Loran had just kept his mouth shut then I wouldn't have to worry about my secret coming into the light, now would I?" he snarled. Sinclair waved his hand in a nonchalant way and said, "Calm down, Alucard. Nobody paid any attention to your screw-up back there, so you have no worries about being uncovered. But do explain something to me. Why do you have this special hatred towards Loran? I know you don't get along well with most of the others in the Clan, but I have noticed that you two leave the room with tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife."

Alucard remained silent for a moment, as if thinking his answer over, and finally said, "Loran is what's wrong with Vampire society. He's too damn independent, and Vampires that are too independent end up causing trouble for everyone in the end. They start trying to push their ideas and such onto others and don't know the meaning of holding their tongue. Tonight was a perfect example about how Loran can't keep his words to himself."

Sinclair tapped his chin and looked at Alucard with pure amusement in his purple-gray eyes. "So that's why you don't get along very well with him," he mused, "I thought it would have done something with envy or feeling threatened that he would take your place as my second-in-command."

Alucard shook his head and said, "No. Envy has nothing to do with why I can't stand that little pest. It's his personality and beliefs that I can't stand." Sinclair slid off the side of his desk and began to pace around the room that was his office.

"But I've noticed you don't hold the same hostilities towards Loran's brother, Zoran. Why is that?" Even though Sinclair had known Alucard for many years, he still couldn't help but pry every now and then and find out more about what the half-human, half-Vampire kept hidden to himself.

"Zoran is different from his brother. That's all there is to it," Alucard said flatly. Sinclair now stood in front of his second-in-command, his purple-gray eyes narrowed at Alucard's striking purple ones, and a sly grin on his lips.

"No. It's not cause Zoran is different from Loran. A lot of the others in the Clan are different from Loran, and you can't stand them either. What is the real reason then? Is it because you two are similar in the aspect that if your secrets are uncovered, then you both will be looked down upon by other Vampires?" Sinclair asked.

He saw Alucard tense up, and this only fed the Vampire Lord's grin into a wide smile. "You know too much, Sinclair," Alucard hissed under his breath. The Vampire Lord laughed and stepped away from his second-in-command. "No. I know just enough," he said nonchalantly.

Sinclair knew most of the secrets in his Clan, secrets that others did not to want to be revealed due to fear of being looked down upon. Zoran, of course, was in that category. But for an entirely different reason from Alucard's. That was a past that Sinclair decided to ponder another time, and he strode over to the door of his office.

Alucard asked him, "Where are you going now?" Sinclair glanced over his shoulder and said, "To check on my guest. I am his Donor, after all." The Vampire Lord left out of the office, leaving his second-in-command behind, and made his way to the room that the human had been taken to.

It had been about an hour since the boy had been infected with the Vampire Lord's blood, and Sinclair took into account what Alucard had told him earlier about the human being lucky to survive the night. He opened the door to the room where the human had been taken to, and found the boy in worse shape than he had left him in.

The human's raven-black hair stuck to the sides of his face with sweat, and his breaths came out in choppy, ragged gasps. It was well-known that Vampire blood was considered a foreign body to a human, and thus, a human's body would react to it as it would a virus or any other disease by trying to burn it out with fever and fight it off.

This process could go on for days, even weeks before the body finally tires out and can no longer fight off the Vampire blood, or the human dies by the hands of their own body and its defenses.

There were ways though to make the Transition go faster and less painful, and that was to make the infected human drink blood as a way to keep their shifting body strong enough to handle the onslaught that they were facing.

Back in the main room, Sinclair had said it made no difference to him whether or not this human lived or died during the Transition, but that had only been half-true. The Vampire Lord had been waiting a long time to finally decide upon a human that might be worthy enough of being turned by his blood.

That, and he also wanted to prove Alucard wrong. But by the way the human was taking to his blood, it looked like Alucard would be right about the boy not making it through the night. Sinclair sighed and walked out of the room, accepting his losses.

He could always go and find another human that might be worthy enough, and when that would happen, his blood would be less potent, and the possibility of that human surviving the Transition would be higher than that of the current human he had now.

Sinclair walked down the cavernous halls of his enclave as he approached his room to turn in for the coming day.

As he walked, he passed by Zoran's room, which was the closest to his, and heard the sobbing that permeated through the stone walls almost every night. Sinclair shook his head and continued on his way, ignoring the wails of despair coming from the young Vampire's room.

_~O~_

It was almost daybreak, and Alexander was growing impatient. "They should have been here by now," he said to himself, his hands trembling violently as stages of withdrawal started to creep in. It had been about a day since his last fix, and his body was screaming for more of the rich, red substance that fueled his drive to continue living.

He knew he had a problem, but nobody could help him with his demons. There were no treatment places that would help with him recover his life that had been destroyed by the Blood Ring. But he was trapped so deep within the hold of the Ring, that he no longer had the will to walk away, to leave this life behind. He was now a prisoner of Sinclair and his people.

Something to his right knocked over a dilapidated cardboard box. "H-hello?" Alexander asked to the shadows, "Are you the dealer I've been waiting for?" His body tingled with the promise of the euphoric substance that the Blood Ring provided to their clients.

Alexander had worked up the nerves to ask them one day what was in their so-called drug, and it had been Sinclair that had been his dealer that day. The leader of the Blood Ring, who had obviously realized that Alexander had fallen deep into their hands, told him what was in the crimson drug.

"Blood, my friend. The blood of humans and creatures of the night," he had said. If Alexander hadn't been hooked on their drug, he would have been repulsed to find this out, but his mind and body needed the substance, and he kept on coming back. That night was no different. He dug out the roll of money from his pocket and held it out to the shadows.

"I-I have the payments for you. P-please just hand over what I need," he pleaded, hating how desperate he sounded. Something started to emerge from the shadows, but it wasn't one of Sinclair's usual dealers. No. This was something else entirely.

The creature was severely emaciated, its ribs showing through the skin beneath its tattered shirt. Its eyes were two wild, ravenous black pools, and two abnormally long canine teeth protruded from its mouth. It eyed Alexander with awe, and a bit of drool dripped from the corner of the creature's mouth.

It then licked its lips and started stalking towards Alexander. He wasn't sure if this was an effect of being away from his drug of choice for the past day, or if it was really happening. The creature then lunged at him, and Alexander brought his hands up to shield himself from the attack.

He felt the thing on top of him bit into his arms with its fangs, and cried out as it began to savagely rip away at his skin. Alexander managed to kick the thing off of him, and he began to run down the alleyway that he was meant to meet up with his dealer at.

The creature pursued after him, occasionally lapped up Alexander's blood on the ground as he passed by. He clutched tightly onto his bleeding arm and gritted his teeth through the pain that blazed through his nerves. He tried to round a corner, but the creature had somehow caught up to him, and grabbed onto Alexander's ankle, causing him to pitch forward and fall to the ground.

The creature clawed its nails into his back, drawing blood. Alexander felt the thing's sick tongue begin lapping up the blood from the wound. His skin crawled and he cried out for help, even though he knew none would come. Tears were streaming down his face.

_This is how I'm going to die, _he thought to himself. _I'm going to die because of Sinclair. Sinclair and his blasted Blood Ring ruined my life. It's because of them that I was here tonight. It's because of them this thing is killing me. _Alexander felt his anger towards the leader of the Blood Ring rise up in the very core of his being.

He wanted to make Sinclair pay for this somehow, but he knew that wouldn't happen; he was as good as dead now. _Fight…..I have to fight back, _Alexander told himself sternly. The edges of his vision were starting to turned black as more of his blood was drained away, but he looked through his blurred eyes and found a rusted metal pipe lying a few feet from him.

He desperately crawled towards the pipe, finding it difficult to move with the added weight of the creature on his back. Relief flooded into him when his hand wrapped around the pipe. He then used what energy he had left and used that to throw the monster from his back.

Alexander then forced himself to sit up, and when he did, he saw the creature running back towards him. Acting quickly, he lifted the rusted pipe in front of him, and the creature was unable to stop in time. It ran itself into the metal pipe, screaming in pain as it penetrated its heart.

Blood from the monster ran down the pipe and slithered onto Alexander's hand, where it found its way into his bleeding wrist.

He felt the blood enter into his body like a parasite, and shock made him let go of the pipe that he still had had a hold on. He could now feel the monster's blood snaking its way through his veins, and he began to hit his arm, as if to stop the blood from going any further.

Alexander was terrified. He didn't know what was happening to him; all he knew was that it hurt. He could feel his temperature rising, and his body broke out into violent chills. Alexander fell over onto his side, into a pool of not only his blood, but also the creature's as well.

The thick liquid soaked through into his waist-length blond hair. He stared at the body of the creature, seeing that it was still slightly breathing, even with a pipe sticking out of its chest. Alexander felt a wave of nausea come over him, and he wretched up a mixture of stomach contents and blood.

His head pounded and was ablaze with a still-spiking fever. His vision was rapidly fading away, and he knew that it wouldn't be long before oblivion took him away. And all he could think of in those few minutes before he went unconscious was, _If I somehow live through this hell, I will make sure that Sinclair suffers as I have._

* * *

I think it's going to be a lazy day, so read and do leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	4. Blight

_~O~_

Alice woke up that morning, sunlight hitting her right in her eyes and disturbing her peaceful rest. She sat up, her long, orange hair a tangled mess from where it had come out of its ponytail holder sometime during the night. She groaned through her drowsiness and slipped out of the warm bed she had been given while she stayed at Marucho's for the next couple of weeks, and began to get dressed for the day.

Alice slipped on a pair of jeans and purple shirt over her head; it was simple, but she liked it like that. Before she even left out of her room, she smelled the mouth-watering scent of Kato's cooking downstairs. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she was hungry.

She quickly brushed her hair and started down the long hallways of Marucho's mansion. Within a matter of minutes, she entered into the main dining room, only to find that everyone else was already gathered there and waiting for her. Alice apologized for keeping them all waiting and took a seat between Julie and Runo. Marucho smiled and said, "It's alright, Alice. You weren't holding us up."

She felt a bit more at ease knowing that she hadn't been keeping them waiting for anything. Alice noticed that the giant plasma screen TV was out of its secret slot in the wall, and a blank, blue screen was lit up. She asked, "Why's the TV out? Are we planning on calling somebody?"

The only time this TV was taken out was for video calls, and occasionally meetings for Marucho's parents. Other than that, it was rare to see it out. Dan, who was sitting across from Alice, told her, "We decided to try and get a hold of Shun this morning and see if he would be able to get a chance to get away from his grandfather and hang out so we all can catch up."

Alice nodded and glanced back up at the massive TV screen. She had told them yesterday how she ran into Shun at that store while she was out picking up some things, and they had suggested calling him right after that. But Alice had protested, telling them how he was apparently very busy with his grandfather that day, and she didn't want to cause him any trouble; it was clear that it must had made better sense to everyone else to call before ten in the morning.

The screen on the TV suddenly went from blue, to black, and a old-time video camera popped up in the center with a little circle spinning around as a connection was trying to be made. While that was going on, Marucho was typing away on his laptop to set up the web camera so people on the other side could see them.

The screen on the TV then clicked to life, and they were faced with Shun's grandfather, looking rather aggravated. "How do I shut this thing up?" he mumbled to himself. Dan smiled and waved up at the TV. "Hey, Gramps!" he said cheerfully. The old man looked at them through the screen, then narrowed his eyes.

"Don't call me that, Daniel," the old man snapped and went back to messing with the computer. Dan nervously rubbed the back of his neck and muttered under his breath, "Cranky old man." Marucho cut a look at Dan, then turned his attention up to the TV screen.

"Um, sir? We were just trying to get in touch with Shun. We didn't mean to disturb you or anything. Could you maybe go and get him for us?" the short blond asked nervously. For some reason, the old man made everyone a bit nervous when they were around them, especially Runo and Marucho, seeing as they had had a rather unpleasant run-in with him.

Shun's grandfather scowled and said harshly, "I'd be more than happy to find my rogue grandson for you all, but I'm afraid he isn't here." They all sat there in silence for a moment. Marucho shook his head and asked, "Where is he then?"

The old man sat down in the computer chair, and appeared to be having quite a bit of trouble moving around. "I haven't the slightest clue. I sent him out last night to go and pick up my medicine that he forgot to get earlier on in the day, and he never bothered to come home. That boy is nothing but trouble at times, I swear," the old man sneered.

A silence hung in the air for a moment, and it was Marucho who broke it. He said, "Well, thank you for your time, sir. Sorry to disturb you." The short blond clicked a button on his laptop, and the TV screen went back to bright blue. Alice shook her head and said, "Shun wouldn't just run off like this. Not when he was out to pick up his grandfather's medicine. He would have at least gotten it to him before running off."

The news of Shun's sudden disappearance troubled Alice. She knew better than to think that he had vanished like he used to when he was younger. In those days, his disappearing acts had been caused due to fights with his grandfather, but even Shun had admitted that the two were on better terms now.

Dan waved his hand nonchalantly in the air and said, "I know Shun a bit better than you guys. He probably went to pick up Gramp's medicine and decided to stay at a hotel or something to get a break from the old man, or to stay off the streets so he wouldn't get jumped or something. There's no need to worry. He'll probably be back at his house within the hour and call us back."

Alice stared down at her hands in her lap. _I hope so, _she thought to herself. Something about this just didn't settle right with her; it left an ominous feeling in the back of her mind, a feeling that occasionally brushed against her thoughts and created worse-case scenarios of what could have happened.

While the conversation shifted from Shun to other things, Kato had brought out their breakfast. Everyone was eating, except for Alice, who had lost her appetite due to the sick feeling that had formed from her worry.

_~O~_

Yelling woke the Vampire Lord from his slumber. His eyes flew open, and a murderous rage threatened to take him over and make him strangle somebody. But he quickly quieted down his rage and climbed out of his bed, slipped on a floor-length robe, and followed the sounds of the yelling.

It eventually led him to the main room, where most of his Clan were up and arguing. In the middle of all of the commotion, Sinclair caught sight of one of the Vampires he had assigned as a dealer for that night. He was trying to explain something to the others that surrounded him, but couldn't get his point across due to their constant babbling. Sinclair could feel his head starting to pound, and he couldn't take it any longer.

He slammed his hand against the cavernous wall, knocking a few, tiny rocks lose from the ceiling, and shouted, "That's enough!" His voice carried far beyond the main room, and possibly even outside of the enclave. Silence permeated the room now to the point of where you could have heard a pin drop onto the floor.

All eyes were locked onto Sinclair, some of them calm, while others were filled with nervous fear. The Vampire Lord rubbed the sides of his aching temples and said, "Would somebody please tell me what is going on in here! Don't any of you know what time of day it is!"

Several Vampires flinched back when he raised his voice. Alucard stepped out from the group and spoke up. He said, "Apparently there was a bit of trouble with a deal earlier tonight." Sinclair narrowed his eyes and said, "What kind of trouble?" He didn't like hearing that there had been a problem within his Blood Ring; it was a poor reflection on him.

The Vampire that had been assigned as a dealer that night stepped forward, a nervous glint in his eyes, and said, "I was running behind on deliveries, and when I got to my last one for the night, I smelled blood. Lots of it. I followed the scent and it led me about a block away from the usual exchange spot. There was where I found the source of the scent. Sir, it was both human and Vampire blood, and by the pungent scent, they were both costumers of ours. I fear that one of our Vampire clients may have attacked one of our human clients."

Sinclair felt his anger starting to bubble up again. He asked coldly, "Do you know where these two clients are now?" The dealer shook his head and said, "No, Sir. But, there is something else you might want to know. The Vampire blood I found…..Well, it didn't just have the normal scent of somebody who used our drug. There was something else in it that I smelled."

Sinclair raised a brow up and asked, "And what might that be?" The dealer shifted nervously from foot to foot, then finally replied with, "I believe that our client Vampire that attacked that human, may have had Blight." Low mumbles filled the main room as the Vampires present discussed this revelation.

Sinclair felt caught off-guard as well. "There hasn't been a report of Blight for years. I mean, I know that it's still out there, but it's so uncommon now that it might as well be considered ancient history," the Vampire Lord said more to himself than to his followers.

Blight was a condition that affected Vampires if they fed from humans too much. The condition had run rampant at one point, but that was before that it was discovered that feeding from humans caused it. After that, reports of Blight became scarce, and occasionally there would be a sighting of a Blighted Vampire running around.

Feeding every now and then from a human wouldn't cause a Vampire to contract Blight, and most of the time those that did feed enough from humans to get the condition, usually had a need for the blood, almost like an addiction. They would keep feeding, even when it wasn't necessary; Vampires were only supposed to feed when they had to, not when they wanted to.

Sinclair had seen many a Vampire lose themselves to Blight. He had seen first-hand how horrible the condition was, and it had made sure that he would never allow himself to fall victim to such a thing. He recalled the last time he saw a case of Blight with his own eyes.

The Vampire that had it had ripped through an entire Medieval village, killing everyone in there without even realizing it. Sinclair remembered how he had found the Vampire after that, curled up in a puddle of blood, trembling, and begging to be put out of his misery so his curse could come to an end.

Sinclair couldn't even fathom how horrible it must have been to just keep feasting, to be unable to stop, no matter how badly they wanted to. The Vampire Lord shook those ancient memories away and asked the dealer, "Are you sure it was Blight?"

The dealer nodded and said, "I think it's because our blood supplies have been running rather low, and we've been unable to fully keep up with the demand that this is happening. It may be that in order to substitute our drug, the Vampires in the city may be attacking humans in hopes of getting the same effect. And then they just keep feasting in hopes of that high to the point that Blight takes hold. You have to remember Sinclair, most of our Vampire clients don't know what is in the blood we give them. They just think it's regular human blood that's laced with some kind of drug. They have no idea that there is Vampire blood mixed in."

Sinclair ran a hand through his shoulder-length golden hair and sighed in aggravation. If they couldn't keep up with demand for the human-Vampire blood mixture, then Blight would end up spreading like wildfire throughout the city as more Vampires started constantly feeding on humans.

There had to be something to do in order to stop this growing epidemic. If they couldn't, then the members of the Vampire Society would surely find out about this, and when they did, they would also uncover Sinclair and his Blood Ring, and more than likely put it to an end.

The Vampire Lord didn't want to lose what he had worked so hard to create. He turned to face his followers and said, "If any of you encounter a Vampire that you think may be suffering from Blight, or already is, put an end to its life. We can't have word of a possible, growing epidemic reaching the Society. Also, remember that if you do take it into your hands to exterminate a Blighted Vampire, make sure you do not come in contact with its blood. If the Blight is set in deep enough, it has been known to be contagious and spread. Keep your guards up out there."

They nodded and Sinclair turned on his heels to leave out of the main room and return to his chamber to salvage what hours of the day he had left to sleep off his troubles.

* * *

there are times when i'm just not feeling this story, and times when i am. i guess it's cause there's a lot going on in it. Oh well, i'm going to keep at it and finish it out. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	5. The Gift Of A Curse

_~O~_

Sinclair couldn't fall asleep again, no matter how hard he tried; his thoughts were still rampaging in his head. He laid there in his regal, four-post bed and stared up at the rocky ceiling of the cave. He rested his forearm against his forehead and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"Blight….Of all things to rear its ugly head, it had to be Blight," he said to himself. If there was a sudden, unexpected uprising of the condition, then Sinclair knew that he was partially to blame for it. It was his business that had ensnared the city's Vampires into the Blood Ring, causing addiction to the special Vampire-human mixed blood.

And because of low supplies and being unable to keep up with demand, which some times made deliveries two or three days apart now, the Vampires appeared to be searching for a new substitute until they could get their hands on more of Sinclair's special drug; and that alternative was feasting directly from humans.

The Vampire Lord ran a hand through his golden hair and continued to stare up at the ceiling as if it had all of his answers. He wasn't going to give up his business, but he certainly didn't want to be responsible for Blight running like wildfire throughout the city and into the neighboring towns.

If it wasn't stopped soon, then it would be a safe bet that the Blight would soon turn into a full-on epidemic. "This would be so much easier if I didn't run the risk of the Society capturing me and locking me away," he muttered to himself.

Sinclair was from one of the original Noble Vampire families, and because of his bloodline, he should have been an upstanding member of the Society, attending meetings and making sure that their secret underground world of Vampires remained civilized and under control. But ever since he was young, the politics of the Vampire Society had never appealed to Sinclair.

He always had drifted towards the more dangerous side of things. There had been a point in time, after he abandoned home, that he had done the unthinkable at the time and lived among the humans in secrecy. But there was a war being waged between the Vampires and Vampire hunters.

Everyday had been filled with a thrill that excited Sinclair and kept him wanting more; he never knew when a fight would break out, or an innocent person would be accused of being a blood-sucker. Each day, there was something new. But as the years had gone on, people started looking more towards science and reason to the unexplainable, and it ended with the conclusion that Vampires did not exist.

And with that, Vampire hunters died away, and people no longer feared the night. Sinclair recalled how the Society had taken advantage of this and finally allowed Vampires to live among humans, as long as they made sure not to let their cover be blown.

Those days had been nothing but boring to Sinclair; he craved the unexpected, the dangerous. And because of that boredom, the Blood Ring and Yoru Clan were created by Sinclair's devilish mind, and he had not encountered a day yet where he regretted forming either one of them.

That is, until he discovered that he was now one of the prime reasons that Blight was making a comeback. That little event was a bit too unexpected for Sinclair, even though he craved things like that. "I'll just have to make sure that our suppliers increase production and then pick off the Blighted Vampires in the city one-by-one.

That's the only way to put this to an end before the Society sticks their noses where they don't belong," he told himself sternly. Sinclair brought his hand up to the side of his head, and grimaced as he felt a migraine starting to set in. _Blood, _he thought to himself, _I need blood. _

He forced his fatigue-stricken body out of his bed and he shuffled his feet along the cool, stone floor. He then maneuvered through the cavernous hallways towards the storeroom where they kept their personal, pure supply of blood separate from that that went into the Vampire-human mixture that was sold on the streets.

Sinclair reached the storeroom, which was a large, walk-in fridge much like the ones used in blood-banks in hospitals. He opened the door and a wave of cool air brushed past him, sending a small chill down his arm. With the door open, he could smell the blood through the plastic bags, and it was enough to make his mouth water and his fangs protrude out of natural instinct.

Sinclair selected a pouch at random, not caring whether it was positive, negative, or what type it was; he just needed something to take the edge off his stress and worries. He then strode across the room, bag of blood in his hands, and opened a cabinet where ornate chalices and goblets were kept.

He reached into the cabinet and pulled out a gold-color chalice with ornate etchings in the metal, and cut open the bag of blood. His mouth watered further as he watched the dark, red liquid pour into the container. When every last drop was out of the plastic pouch, he tossed it away in the garbage can beside him.

With a chalice of blood now in hand, Sinclair started on his way back to his chamber, but found himself side-tracked as he passed by the room that held their human guest. He peered into the room, and found that Loran was hovering over the human boy. Sinclair narrowed his eyes and entered into the room.

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be up and about still, Loran?" he asked, his voice tinged with aggravation from the growing migraine. Loran jumped and turned around, his gray eyes wide with surprise.

"Uh, yes, Sir. I just thought I'd check in on our guest before I returned to my chamber," the young Vampire said quickly, "Alucard's words about the human not making it through the night were eating at me because if he does succumb to the potency of your blood, then it will be my fault. I'm the one who suggested turning him, so it will be his blood on my hands if he dies."

Sinclair shot a questioning look at Loran. The young Vampire certainly was different from the ones that the Vampire Lord had encountered in his many years on the Earth. Loran was more sympathetic and caring, despite the dark business he had involved himself in; that was why Alucard referred to him as the Humanitarian of Vampires.

He didn't want to see anyone die that didn't have to, and Sinclair found that somewhat honorable, but also insanely idiotic. The Vampire Lord brushed past Loran and looked down at the human that now had his blood circulating throughout his veins.

The raven-haired boy seemed to keep looking worse each time Sinclair saw him. At the moment, if Sinclair didn't know any better, he would have thought the human was dead, just by how weak he looked. The boy's breathing was shallow, and came out in pitiful wheezes.

Sinclair noticed that the boy wasn't sweating as much, but he knew better than to think that the fever had broken; odds were that the human was severely dehydrated now from his abnormally high temperature. Loran, still looking down at the human, said, "Maybe we should give him some blood. It will help speed along the Transition and make it less painful on him."

Sinclair shook his head and shot down Loran's suggestion by saying, "No, no matter how much blood you make him drink, it won't do much for him. My blood is too potent, so having him drink would be a waste of time. All we can do is wait and see if some of that legendary human willpower prevails and beats the odds here. I don't think it will, though."

Sinclair turned on his heels and was about to leave out of the room, when a hand shot out and latched onto his wrist. At first, he thought it was Loran, but then he felt how weak and loose the grip was, and how deathly cold the hand was.

Sinclair glanced over his shoulder and saw that the human had reached out and latched onto his wrist. The boy wheezed heavily, struggling to regain control of his breathing, almost as if just lifting his hand had taken everything out of him. His eyes were glazed over and distant, and yet, they seemed to have locked right onto Sinclair.

The Vampire Lord could feel the human's hand trembling as he remained loosely latched onto Sinclair's wrist. "K….Kill…..Me…..," the human pleaded in a weak, hoarse whisper. Tears rolled from the boy's eyes, either from pain or from a begged mercy.

Then, the human's grip slipped from Sinclair's wrist, and his arm laid limply by the side of the bed as the raven-haired boy fell back into the unconsciousness created by his deteriorated condition. Sinclair stood there and stared down at the unconscious boy, surprise still clear as day on his face.

He wasn't expected the human to somehow even manage enough strength to lift a muscle, much less speak and remain coherent for a moment. _Maybe this means that he can survive the Transition, and that Alucard was wrong. Perhaps this human can survive through the night, _Sinclair mused to himself.

The Vampire Lord shoved the chalice of blood into Loran's hands and told the young Vampire, "Make him drink that. He needs it more than I do." As Sinclair started out of the room again, Loran called out from behind him and said, "Wait, Sir? I thought you said it wouldn't make a difference if we gave him blood or not."

In the doorway, Sinclair glanced over his shoulder and told Loran, "That was before I saw that little display," then walked out into the hallway, his migraine long gone now.

_~O~_

Alexander stumbled down the filthy, damp alleyways of the city, clutching tightly onto his wrist that had been sliced open. Although, when he came to, his wrist was healed, nothing but a pink scar left behind. His mind drifted back to all of the horrendous things that had transpired when he woke up.

Alexander had found himself still in the same place that he had passed out in, the body of the creature that attacked him still by his side. And somehow, despite the metal pipe sticking out from the monster's chest, it was still alive, but appeared to be on the verge of death.

His head and the back of his eyes ached, but he hadn't known why at first; later he realized that the pain was caused from his vision, which had been enhanced way beyond what a normal person was used to. Closing his eyes had been the only refuge from the pain, but after a while, he had adjusted.

Alexander cringed as his thoughts shifted to how he had felt when he came to. He hadn't been thirsty, or hunger, but for some reason he felt like he was empty, a hollow shell that needed something to fill that void. And when he caught wind of the coppery blood of the creature beside him, and heard its slowly dying pulse, something just clicked in Alexander.

Before he realized what he was doing, he had pounced on the creature and bit into its flesh, drinking the foul tasting body fluids of the monster. He wanted to throw up, to get rid of what he was drinking and doing out of his body, but he couldn't bring himself to stop.

He kept drinking the blood from the creature until all that was left of it was a shriveled shell of what it once was. Alexander had been trembling from the shock of the vile thing he had just done, but also from the urge to do it again, to bit into something and drain the life from it.

From further down the alley, he heard something approaching him. In a panic, he pushed the dead creature's body out of sight and fled from the scene, struggling to stay up on his jelly-like legs. Tears stung at his eyes, and his stomach was doing back-flips as if it wanted to expel the unnatural contents that was now inside of it, but somehow, his body was holding down the blood that he just drank.

Alexander stopped running when he felt that he had gotten away without being spotted, then leaned against a brick wall of a building. He slid down to the ground, and sat there with his hands clutching the sides of his head. "What's….What's happened to me!" he screamed and dug his nails into his scalp, drawing blood.

He smelled the scent of the fluid that gave him life, and he felt his mouth watering, and an ache forming in his mouth around his gum-line. He carefully touched his teeth and felt that his canines were longer than they should have been, and that they came down in a fine, razor-sharp point.

Alexander wrapped his arms around himself and screamed. What had happened to him? He should have been dead. He should have been laying back in that alley, cold and lifeless from blood-loss and having that thing's blood slither into the wound on his wrist.

In the midst of his denial, a thought occurred to him; he had wished to survive his encounter with death so that way, he could seek his revenge on Sinclair and make him pay. What if this was a high power's way of giving him that chance to put an end to the devil that had ruined his life?

Alexander's mouth curled up into a devious smile. That's what it had to be. This had to be his chance at revenge. Something had answered his prayers and granted his dying wish to make Sinclair suffer.

This wasn't a curse or punishment; this was a gift. Alexander titled his head back and began to chuckle, which slowly turned into a booming laugh that dripped with madness.

* * *

ugh. Mondays. Oh, how I hate Mondays. -.- read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	6. Panic

_~O~_

Shun didn't know what was going on; all he knew was that he was experiencing pain like he had never felt before. He was weak, unable to even open his eyes except for a few seconds every now and then. All of his pain and suffering had started after he came to in some strange place, and when some freak exchanged blood with him.

Shun wasn't sure how, but the guy that had placed his bloody palm on him, was responsible for all of this. And when the stranger entered his room, the other day, Shun had made a point of mustering up his strength and was able to weakly grab onto the man's wrist. But he hadn't meant to beg for death.

When he asked for the man to kill him, to put an end to his suffering, that even surprised Shun. He had meant to ask what was going on, what was happening to him, and where he was at. Instead, what came out was a pitiful plea to end his life.

That had sent chills throughout Shun's body and made him wonder how the pain could have made his will break so easily and beg for death. It scared him to know that he was in that much agony that being killed by the hands responsible for doing this to him would have been a better alternative than living through this personal hell.

Shortly after that, he had passed out again, the darkness encasing him once again as he reached the end of his body's ability to remain conscious. That was when he felt it, tasted it. A thick liquid with a coppery taste touched his lips, and Shun only allowed it to pass through his lips because he felt like he was dying from thirst, among other things.

He didn't know what he was drinking, but the metallic taste and the thick consistency of the liquid wasn't normal, or like anything else he had ever drank. As the mystery drink passed down his throat and into his stomach, Shun felt a tiny wave of energy and strength wash over him; it gave him just enough to open his eyes again and join the realm of the conscious.

His amber eyes locked onto a boy with gray hair and gray eyes standing beside him, and holding an ornate chalice in his hands, which rested near Shun's mouth. Shun looked at the boy, who appeared not much older than him, and managed to ask in a raspy voice, "What…..What did you…..Make me drink?"

Even speaking made waves of aches of pain course through his body, but they were tolerable. The gray-haired boy moved the chalice away from Shun's face and took several steps away from the bedside. He told the raven-haired teen, "I gave you some blood to drink to get your strength up and help speed along the Transition, with Sinclair's permission, of course."

It took Shun a moment to register what he had just been told. Blood? Did he hear the boy right? Blood? He just drank blood? Shun's stomach did a flip at the thought, and before he could even realize what was happening, he had rolled over to the side of the bed and thrown up the contents in his stomach.

He stared down at the floor, which was covered with a watered-down, red crimson liquid. Blood. The boy hadn't been kidding. He had made Shun drink blood. Another wave of nausea hit Shun, and he thought he might be sick again. His hands were trembling with horror and disgust.

The gray-haired boy that had made him drink the unthinkable, said, "You're going to have to try and keep the blood down if you want your Transition to go more smoothly. If not, then you're going to be in pain for a long, long time."

Shun could feel that sudden surge of strength fading from him, and he knew it wouldn't be much longer before he was unconscious again. He didn't want to pass out though, due to fear that more blood might be poured down his throat; his stomach did a flip whenever he merely thought about it.

Shun began to shake his head furiously and said with as much conviction as he could manage, "You….You aren't pouring anything else down my throat, you freak!" Shun's heart was racing with adrenaline and fear. How could he possibly have been so unlucky as to end up in the hands of a bunch of sick, psychopaths?

Suddenly, fight or flight kicked in for the raven-haired teen, and he forced his ailing body up and out of the bed he had been placed in some time during his unconscious stupor. Surprisingly, his legs could somewhat hold him, but just barely. He could feel them trembling beneath his weight like jelly.

His movements as he ran lacked the grace that they normally had, but that came with the weakness from whatever had happened to him in the previous hours, or days. Behind him, he heard the gray-haired boy shout, "Hey! Get back here! You're in no condition to be up!"

Shun wasn't going to stop, though. He wanted out of this place, to be far away from the hell he had somehow found his way into. He fled from the room that was his prison and out into a hallway that was dimly lit by torches. The edges of his vision started to grow dark.

_No….No, I can't blackout yet….I have to get out first, _he told himself sternly. There would be plenty of time to let his traumatized mind rest once he was free. Shun forced his frail body to run down the hall as fast as he could manage.

He wasn't paying attention when he ran into somebody, knocking himself back onto the stone floor. Shun looked up and gasped at what he had bumped into. It was another person, or, at least, looked like a person.

The stranger had black, unkempt hair, and a leather patch sewn over his right eye; a black, straight jacket-like article of clothing came up and covered his face, just below his nose like an over-sized turtle-neck sweater.

Dark, black rings circled the boy's one, uncovered eye. Shun was tremble even more now with the sudden appearance of this person. The strange boy looked down at Shun and said from beneath his covered mouth, "Monster." Shun felt an inhuman chill slither down his spine, and hysteria took over from there.

He scrambled up to his feet and ran in the opposite direction of the person. Shun had a feeling that he should have blacked-out by now, but so much adrenaline was running through his veins that he now had more energy than his weakened body should have had. He had to get away, he had to break free from the level of hell.

Shun found that he had run into a large room, and across this room, there were two large, wooden doors. _Doors….Doors mean freedom, _he thought to himself and let out a slightly deranged laugh. He was going to get out of here, he was going to be far away from this place, and all he had to do was run through those doors.

He hurried towards the two wooden gates to freedom, but when he reached them, Shun found that they were shut tight. Panic started to replace the elated hysteria that he had felt at the site of the doors, and he began to frantically pull at the iron handles.

"No….No! No!," he shouted and pulled and pushed at the door with all of the strength he had, but it wouldn't budge. "They're locked, of course. We lock the doors during the day here," a voice said from behind. Shun glanced over his shoulder and saw the man that had placed his bloody palm on Shun and started this nightmare.

Shun felt his legs give out from beneath him, and he slumped down in front of the door, a feeling of defeat wrapping its fingers around him in a death-grip. His heat pounded even faster, and for a moment, he thought it might erupt or seize and give him a heart attack.

The golden-haired man strode up to Shun and knelt down in front of the raven-haired teen, then said, "You can't leave this place. Not in the condition you're in. You see, human, I'm your Donor, which means that I am responsible for turning you into what you're becoming. But there is something else about the relationship between a Donor and the human he is changing; they can't be too far away from one another. If you stray too far, then you'll die. You need to be nearby for the Transition to work. Despite how you begged me to kill you a little while ago, you don't want to die, do you, human?"

Shun's trembling had intensified, and his blood pounded in his ears, drowning out almost all of the other sounds in the cavernous room. He managed to shake his head though to answer the man's question. "N-no…..I…..I d-don't want t-to die," he said in a trembling voice.

The golden-haired man chuckled darkly and mused, "Humans…..Such beautifully delicate creatures they are…Now, if you want to have a chance to continue to live, I suggest you just remain in the room I have provided for you and endure the remaining duration of the Transition. I'm not promising you will survive it, though. There is a good chance you may still die before you reach the end, but I'm sure if you drink plenty of blood, you may be able to make it through."

Shun shook his head and snapped at the man, "No!….I'm not…..Drinking any blood!" Even though he could feel weakness and fatigue snaking its way around him again, Shun managed to make his voice sound powerful. The golden-haired man stared down at him with amusement.

"Humans and their morals. I've always been amused by them. Oh, well, I suppose it's your choice in the end. If you want to increase your chances of death, then so be it."

The man stood up and now towered over Shun. He then turned on his heels and faced the gray-haired boy that had been forcing Shun to drink the blood; the raven-haired teen cringed at the mere sight of him.

The golden-haired man told the boy, "He's going to pass out soon. Please, Loran, do take him back to his room when this happens." The gray-haired boy, Loran, nodded as the man strode out of the room. Shun could feel himself slipping away into the darkness that adrenaline and fear had been fighting off.

His head lolled to the side, and he started to struggle with keeping his eyes open. The trembling in his hands had calmed a bit, but his fingers still shook slightly. Shun, through his darkening vision, glanced over to a shadowed corner in the room.

There, he saw the strangely dressed boy that he had run into back in the hallway during his mad attempt to escape. The one, uncovered eye stared at Shun with an unwavering stillness; it was if the freak was examining him.

What the boy had said back in the hall, suddenly echoed in his mind. _"Monster. Monster. Monster." _Shun could no longer fight off the clawing hands of his body's demand, and he allowed himself to be pulled back into the darkness, where his mind could escape from the maddening hell that he had been deposited in.

_~O~_

Alexander made quick work of his latest victim. It was an middle-aged man, who had been wandering the streets at night, drunk; even the blood had tasted of alcohol. The need to drink the fluid of life had become Alexander's main drive now.

He craved the blood like a sweet candy or a rare delicacy that he just couldn't get enough of. At first, drinking the crimson liquid had been disgusting to him, but the more he did it, the more natural it became. Now, it was nothing but second nature.

He walked away from the dried-out body of his latest victim and navigated his way through the alleyways of the cities until he reached an old tunnel that used to be used for maintenance of the city's sewer system; there was a meeting being held that night, and Alexander was the one hosting it.

His shoes echoed against the concrete walls of the tunnel with every step. As he approached where the meeting would be, he heard an increase in the sound of voices and snarls. Then, he reached a massive opening in the tunnel.

It spiraled upward, reaching up to the streets above. This particular section of the ancient sewage tunnel used to be where the waste awaited to be drained into the treatment plant. Now, it and its hundreds of tunnels that were drilled into the walls, was being used as a grand stage.

The talking ceased when eyes locked onto Alexander as he stepped down from his tunnel and onto the floor of his stage. Inhuman eyes followed his every movement. He knew what they all were. These creatures were like him, something that should have never existed, spawns of evil; Vampires.

But there was so much more to his Vampire audience. "Greetings, everyone," Alexander started. Silence hung in the air; there was no formalities returned. "I am Alexander, the one who has summoned you all here tonight. I'm sure you all wonder why."

Again, silence permeated the air, but they all were listening intently. Alexander's eyes examined some of the Vampires in the crowd; skinny, nervous twitches, and shifty eyes. They were all the same, they were all victims. "I called you all here because we have all suffered ruined lives because of one man, one Vampire.

Sinclair, the overlord of the Blood Ring." There was a chorus of hisses and snarls. Even though every single soulless being in the room depended on Sinclair's blood ring to live and carry on with their lives, they all despised the ruler of the Blood Ring.

"Just like you all, my life was ruined because of Sinclair and his business. He placed addiction to his product in my life, and it became the center of my world, and still is. He ruined what I called normal, he turned me into a monster," Alexander said flatly.

A roar of agreement surged from the Vampires that surrounded him, and this sent a wave of power of Alexander. He tilted his head back and exclaimed, "I, for one, want to see Sinclair pay for his crimes! I want to watch him suffer as he has made every single one of us suffer! I want to see him drown in his own blood!"

The roars of approval only grew louder. Alexander continued. "To do this, we have to take what is precious to Sinclair! We have to destroy his beloved Blood Ring. And to do that, we must form one of our own! We will challenge his ranks and overthrow him, then run this city! And when we take over, I promise you all that your addictions will be more than fed, they will be satisfied!"

Now, the roars had turned into screams of righteousness, and this fueled Alexander's sense of power all the more. He extended his hands above his head, towards the blocked out sky, and exclaimed, "Now, let us begin towards our quest of revenge! Go! Go! Start building our Blood Ring! The sooner, the better! Bring down Sinclair!"

Flocks of ravenous Vampires scaled the concrete walls of the old sewage tunnel and ascended into the city. Shortly after that, terrified screams started to fill the night air of the city, and Alexander smiled a twisted smile and laughed.

* * *

Oi, been a busy week for me. Lots of band stuff, but i should be done with that now. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	7. Corruption

_~O~_

There had been something in the air that morning that told Alice that something wasn't quite right; she had had this feeling since they contacted Shun's grandfather and learned that the raven-haired teen was missing, but the foreboding feeling seemed to have reached a high-point that morning.

Alice didn't like it the least bit, and when she walked into the sitting room where the others were gathered, she knew that something was wrong from their shocked and grim expressions. "What's wrong, guys?" she asked cautiously, not really wanting to know.

All of her friends had their eyes locked on an average-sized plasma screen TV, and it appeared that they were watching the local news.

Marucho tore his shocked gaze from the TV and told Alice, "It's horrible. A string of brutal murders took place last night. The authorities are guessing about a hundred people were slaughtered. What makes it worse is that each one of the victims were completely drained of their blood."

Dan, who was sitting beside the short blond, shook his head and added in his two-cents by saying, "This whole thing is really messed up. People are saying its some sick gang running around and doing this. All I know is that I really have no desire to go out into the city at night anymore until these psychos are caught."

There was a chorus of agreements to Dan's statement. Alice looked back at the TV and saw as they began to repeat the story for anyone who may have just been tuning into the channel. A thought then occurred to Alice, and it left a foul taste in her mouth, and made her stomach do a small flip.

"What…What if Shun….," she started but couldn't even bring herself to finish out the sentence. Dan abruptly stood up and shook his head. "No. Don't even say or think about that, Alice!" he snapped.

She lowered her gaze down onto the carpeted floor of the room and said softly, "I can't help but think that he might have gotten caught up in this, Dan. I mean, he went missing a couple nights ago, and as far as we know, he hasn't returned to his grandfather's house. And with all of this craziness going on in the city, it's only natural that I start assuming things like this."

Alice hated to think that Shun might have ended up as one of the poor victims that were being reported about on the news. She shuddered at the thought of him being one of those constantly growing numbers of brutally murdered people.

Runo picked up on Alice's distress and walked over to the orange-haired girl. "Alice, Shun's alright. I'm sure he's back at his grandfather's now. Listen, how about we give the old man a call and see?" Alice looked at Runo, the person that she considered to be one of her best friends in the whole world, the one she could depend on to be there for her, even in the worst of times.

Alice wanted to know if Shun really was back at his grandfather's, but at the same time, she had no desire to know due to fear that they would learn that he was still missing. And if he was still missing, then all Alice could do was fear the worst had happened to the raven-haired teen.

Her chest ached when she thought about him being gone forever, dead. But she would never know if this was the case if they didn't call and see. So, Alice nodded her head and said, "Sure. Let's give them a call." Runo smiled sadly, which made Alice realize that the bluenette was just as scared of the truth as she was.

Marucho had overheard their conversation and was already dialing the number to Shun's on his cell phone. The short blond set the phone the coffee table in front of him and clicked the speaker button so everyone could hear the call. After about five rings, somebody picked up.

"Yes? Who's calling me at this hour in the morning?" a gruff voice asked in an irate fashion. Dan's face lit up with his usual, childish grin and he shouted into the phone, "Hey, Gramps!" On the other side, Alice could hear grumbling. "Daniel, what did I tell you about calling me that?" the old man growled on the other end of the line.

Dan laughed nervously and apologized again for forgetting, but Alice really wondered if the brunette did forget, or if he was just doing it to aggravate the elderly man. Marucho rolled his eyes at Dan and turned his attention back to the phone. He said into the device, "We just wanted to know if Shun has come back yet. All of us are a bit worried, you know, with all the murders that happened last night."

An uncomfortable silence hung on the phone, and with each passing second, Alice's heart felt like it kept speeding up with anticipation. Finally, the old man sighed and said, "No, he hasn't returned back since the night I sent him to get my arthritis medicine."

Alice felt like her heart dropped down into her stomach with the weight of those words. Shun hadn't gone back to his home yet. He had been missing for days now. And with savage murderers out prowling on the streets at night, she could only have horrible thoughts in her mind.

It was all adding up, and the picture it was making was not a pretty one. Marucho nodded, his expression grim, and he said into the phone, "Alright, thanks for telling us. Sorry to disturb you. Have a nice day." He then ended the call and set the phone back on the table, where he stared at it for a while, lost in his thoughts.

The room was dead silent after that. Dan was the one who shattered it though. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he said, "Hey, we still don't know if something bad really happened to him. So, let's not start assuming he's dead or anything. If we wait around long enough, he'll turn up. He always does."

Everyone nodded, but the doubt still hung thick in the air, and Alice knew that they were all waiting for Shun's name to appear up there on the news report among the names of the other victims.

_~O~_

Sinclair had been rather surprised when the human had tried to make a break for it. It was quite apparent that the raven-haired boy had been weak and drained from all of his strength, and yet, he had somehow managed to run all the way to the main door of the enclave.

Although, once the little bout of energy wore off, the human crashed and went out like a light. Now, the Vampire Lord leaned against the doorframe of the room where they kept the human, watching the blankets rise and fall as the human continued to struggle with his breathing. "Sinclair," a voice said from behind.

The Vampire Lord glanced over his shoulder and saw Alucard. "Always addressing me informally when you please and when nobody else is around, aren't you, Alucard?" Sinclair mused aloud. It didn't anger him when somebody didn't formally address him, even though it was a sign of respect in the eyes of the Society; the formalities were something that Sinclair had never been too absorbed in.

Alucard cleared his throat and corrected himself by saying, "Sir." The Vampire Lord smiled in amusement at his second-in-command and how easy it was to get the half human-half Vampire being to bend to his will. "Yes?" Sinclair asked while turning back to look into the room that had been given to the human.

He could sense Alucard shifting around uncomfortably behind him. "I heard about the commotion with the human earlier yesterday, and that Zoran saw him," the second-in-command started. Sinclair closed his eyes and asked, "And what's that got to do with anything?"

Alucard now stood beside Sinclair in the doorway. He said, "I know how Zoran is when he sees something he's not exactly used to. I just wanted to make sure he was alright." Sinclair's lips curled up into an amused smile. "Always caring and looking out for Zoran, when you can't stand his brother Loran. I will never understand that, Alucard," the Vampire Lord mused and opened his eyes.

When he did, he saw Alucard's stark purple eyes narrowed at him. "Could you please just tell me where Zoran is so I can check in on him?" he asked. Sinclair could pick up on the growing agitation in his second-in-command's voice, and it took everything in his power not to chuckle from amusement.

The Vampire Lord looked down the cavernous hallway and said, "Zoran locked himself in his chamber after we got the human back under control. He hasn't let anyone inside, not even Loran. But you, Alucard, he might let in. He seems to favor you." Alucard nodded, thanked Sinclair for his time, then headed towards Zoran's room.

The Vampire Lord remained standing in the doorway, a slight grin on his lips. He, unlike most of his Clan, knew about Zoran's dark past, just as he knew of everyone's past. The only other ones who knew about Zoran were Loran and Alucard. Sinclair had to admit that the young Vampire's story was sad, even to him.

Loran and Zoran, the two brothers, had both been from a well-to-do Nobel family with fairly high status in the Society. And because they were from such a Nobel family, many other Vampires wondered why they involved themselves in Sinclair's Blood Ring and Clan.

That was where the rest of their story came into play. Zoran, unlike his brother, wasn't exactly as open and easy to read. The young Vampire mainly kept to himself and stayed quiet, and not many others in the Clan knew what the reason was for his strange behavior. But the truth was the Zoran hated what he was.

He hated being a Vampire, he hated his bloodline, he hated himself. There had been many a time when Sinclair heard the young Vampire referring to himself as a monster.

It was rather uncommon for a Vampire to fear and loathe himself as much as Zoran did; he even went far enough as the keep his face and mouth covered, just in case he lost control of his Bloodlust and attacked somebody, despite the fact that his bloodline ensured that he could not lose control of the basic need to drink blood.

And what Alucard had mentioned about how Zoran reacted to seeing things he was not used to was also bound to his past. Sinclair had heard the young Vampire mumbling the word "monster" after they subdued the human, and the Vampire Lord knew what was running through Zoran's mind; it was a dark, horrible memory.

Loran had been the one to inform Sinclair of what had been the breaking point for them to leave their Noble home and seek refuge elsewhere. It wasn't just because that their father was incredibly corrupt, but that he was also very abusive towards Zoran because of the young Vampire's views of himself and his bloodline.

And it had been one day when their father overheard Zoran telling his brother how he hated everything that he was, and their father had finally had enough. Their father had told Zoran that if he thought of himself as a monster, then he would make him one.

And that was when their own father gouged out Zoran's eye, leaving him partially blind. Sinclair shook his head at the story and memories that the two brothers had entrusted him with. Their father was another reason that the Vampire Lord had no desire to be a part of the Society.

Any place where members of the elite are that cruel and that twisted, was a place that he didn't want to be anywhere near. Although, it made Sinclair a bit hypocritical, seeing as he ran an illegal Blood Ring.

But at least he wasn't corrupt and twisted; he just did it for the sake of doing it, and for the thrill of the unexpected that he craved so much. Sinclair sighed and glanced back into the dark room that housed the unconscious human one last time before leaving and returning to his own chamber.

_~O~_

Alexander gazed longingly down at the gallon jugs that were filled with the precious liquid of life. The jugs covered a great deal of space in their underground lair, and just the sight of them was enough to get his mouth watering. They had brought in this haul of blood after going out into the city and draining hundreds of people from the crimson liquid.

Some of his underlings had fed while out, but most of them brought back their gallon jugs filled to the top like they were supposed to. They had to do this in order to start up a surplus a blood in order to take down Sinclair. And by the looks of things, they were making good progress.

But they still needed more. They would always need more. Alexander did a quick count of how many jugs of blood sat before him; a bit over two-hundred. It was a start. He turned to the Vampire that he had appointed as his second-in-command, a highly emaciated-looking fellow by the name of Sykes.

Alexander said to him, "Organize another group for tomorrow night. I have a new target in mind." Sykes, rubbing his hands together nervously, which he did when his latest high began to wear off, asked, "What is this new target?" Alexander picked up one of the jugs of blood and took a small sip from the container.

When he put it down, he told Sykes, "One of Sinclair's shipments is being transported across town to the dealer over there. I want you to lead a group of my underlings there and steal the shipment so we can get some of Sinclair's premium supply."

Sykes shifted one his feet nervously, either from withdrawal or from uncertainty of Alexander's plan. "Alright, sir. I'll start forming a group right away," he said and skulked off somewhere else in the tunnel. Alexander's eyes shifted back down to the containers of blood, and he found himself lifting one up and carrying it back to the tunnel that he had called his new home.

He tore the plastic cap off again and tilted the mouth of the container back so the contents could pour down his throat. The blood had turned cold and started to congeal into a thicker liquid, but he didn't mind; blood was blood. In a matter of seconds, the jug was empty, and Alexander leaned against the concrete wall of his tunnel, feeling like a bloated tick or other kind of parasite.

He slid down the wall and sat at its base, his mind a foggy haze as his body absorbed tried to process the large amount of blood he had just consumed. The best way Alexander could describe how he was feeling would have been to say that he felt like he was drunk, or on the verge of it.

But even though it was a good feeling, it didn't match anywhere near like the feeling he got when he drank the crimson liquid from the Blood Ring. His body ached with longing for the drug of his choice, but he knew that there was none within his reach. Not yet, at least. After their raid on Sinclair's shipment, he would have the precious item back in his hands.

* * *

nothing new to report so read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	8. Rage

_~O~_

Sinclair woke from his slumber at the sound of yelling and running beyond his chamber. He growled in aggravation and sat up from his plush bed. The springs groaned beneath his shifting weight as he placed his bare feet on the cold, stony floor.

"There's never any peace in this damn place," he grumbled under his breath as he stormed from the room. Sinclair marched down the cavernous halls that led to where the noise that disturbed his slumber resonated from. When he reached the main room, he found everything in complete chaos.

The Vampires of his Clan were running around in a mad frenzy, some yelling orders, others asking what needed to be done. Past all the madness, Sinclair caught sight of several of the dealers he had assigned to go out that night and make deliveries.

They were cut up and dripping their inhuman blood onto the stone floors; one of them had collapsed at some point before Sinclair entered the room. The Vampire Lord gawked at the pandemonium before him, and wasn't sure what had gone so wrong that his Clan could be left in such disarray.

His gaze fell across the room and locked onto Alucard, who was trying his best to return things to a state of order. Sinclair strode up to his second-in-command, grabbed his shoulders, and spun him around. Alucard stared in surprise, obviously not expecting to be man-handled without warning.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Sinclair asked, his voice raised so he could be heard over the shouting. Alucard ran a hand through his jet-black hair and said over the noise, "The night's shipment got ambushed and stolen shortly after the dealers left."

Sinclair stared at Alucard for a moment, as if he hadn't heard what the lesser Vampire just told him. "The shipment…..Was stolen?" he asked to make sure that he hadn't misheard over all of the shouting. Alucard nodded and constantly glanced over his shoulder to see how the chaos was going.

He said, "Slay was with them when this happened. He tried to tell me the rest of what happened tonight, but he blacked out from his wounds before he could tell me anything else." Sinclair shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "Slay was actually injured?" he asked, utterly dumbfound.

Sinclair had never known Slay to sustain any serious injuries; a cut or scrap every now and then, but never enough to make the assassin pass out.

"What the hell attacked them, Alucard?" Sinclair demanded. The second-in-command shook his head, raised his hands up defensively and told the Vampire Lord, "Our dealers that were attacked said that a large number of Vampires ambushed them from above. There were way too many for Slay to handle, and when they saw that he was no match for their numbers, the rest of them turned tail to get out of there, but several of them were seriously injured while escaping."

Sinclair ran a hand through his golden hair, which suddenly felt like it could turn gray at any moment from all of the sudden stress that was placed before him. "What the hell is going on?" the Vampire Lord asked under his breath through gritted teeth.

The panic seemed to sudden increase, causing the decibel level in the main room to grow louder. And with each added shout and each pounding of a running foot, Sinclair's head thrummed more and more, until he couldn't take it any longer.

"Enough!" he bellowed, his voice towering over the rest of the noise that echoed throughout the room. Silence then fell, making it almost painful to go from so much noise, to so little without any warning. Eyes were locked onto Sinclair, some filled with surprise, and others filled with nervousness or fear.

The Vampire Lord's hands were clenched tightly into fists, turning his knuckles white. His purple-gray eyes scanned over the room and observed how everyone had frozen in their place and dropped whatever they had been doing; several Vampires were still bent over the injured dealers and in the process of getting them medical treatment.

Sinclair inclined his head about, taking form of the regal posture that was expected from somebody of his status, while also making him exude power and authority. "That is quite enough," he said a bit more calmly, but agitation was still clear in his voice.

He turned and looked over Loran, who had been in the process of helping the injured dealers by the main door. Sinclair cleared his throat and said, "Loran, help get them to their rooms and make sure their wounds are tended to." The gray-haired, young Vampire nodded and started gathering others around him to help carry out his task.

The Vampire Lord turned to the rest of his Clan and said, "The rest of you, remain calm. Go on with whatever activities you normally do at this time. Nobody is to leave the enclave unless I say otherwise. Understood." There were simultaneous nods from the wide-eyed Clan members.

Sinclair nodded and turned to Alucard, who still stood loyally by the Vampire Lord's side, and said, "Alucard, take me to Slay. I want to see if I can get some information out of him." The second-in-command stared in surprise, then began to shake his head.

"But, Sir, Slay was completely unconscious shortly after he stumbled in through the door over there. He's probably nowhere near coming to yet." Sinclair clenched his jaw and snapped, "I do not care! I will wake him up on my own if I have to if it means finding out what the hell went on out there tonight!"

Alucard flinched back as Sinclair's voice rose higher and higher. The members of the Yoru Clan knew very well to not defy the Vampire Lord when his anger boiled like this, for it might end badly. Alucard had been on the receiving end of Sinclair's anger one time.

The second-in-command had just become a member of the Yoru Clan, and quite honestly didn't really know the way things worked yet. Alucard had long forgotten what had angered Sinclair that day, but the Vampire Lord had been seething and made a low stab at Alucard's half-human, half-Vampire bloodline.

And the second-in-command's reaction to that had been a mistake. Sinclair had snapped, lost control, and lashed out at Alucard; he still had the scars on his abdomen from where the Vampire Lord had dug his claws in. From there on out, Alucard knew better than to face Sinclair when he was angered.

The second-in-command nodded to the Vampire Lord and said, "Alright, Sir. Slay is in his chamber. I'll escort you there." Sinclair gave a single, firm nod and followed after his second-in-command, leaving behind the remnants of the previous pandemonium in the main room.

When they reached Slay's chamber, Alucard opened the door, allowing Sinclair to enter first. The Vampire Lord's eyes fell onto the bed where their resident assassin lay. The smell of inhuman blood wafted throughout the room and permeated every square inch.

Slay's eyes were shut tight, a look of pain on his face. When Sinclair got closer, he saw the blood-soaked bandages wrapped around the assassin's chest, arms, and legs. _They sure did a number on him, _he thought to himself then turned to Alucard and asked, "How many Vampires did you say ambushed them?"

Alucard shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I don't know, Sir. All I've heard was that there were a lot," he replied. Sinclair nodded, but wasn't pleased with this unknown number of assailants. He then turned his attention back down to Slay and lightly shook the unconscious Vampire's shoulder in an attempt to wake him.

He didn't stir. Sinclair narrowed his eyes and shook a bit more forcefully. "Wake up, you," he said flatly. He could feel his agitation growing again, and when Slay still didn't wake, Sinclair felt his still-boiling rage get the better of him.

The Vampire Lord latched onto one of Slay's injured arms and dugs his claws into the appendage, drawing fresh blood from the slowly healing wounds. Slay's eyes shot open, and a cry of agony flooded from his mouth. "Wake up!" Sinclair snapped.

At this point, Alucard had stepped away, his hand resting on the scars beneath his shirt as a reminder to steer clear of the Vampire Lord now. Slay's body contorted in reaction to the pain, and wild eyes locked onto Sinclair as a means to beg for mercy.

"Let go! Please!" the assassin begged, tears started to spill from his usually cold eyes. Sinclair, if it weren't for his seething rage, would have found this side of Slay somewhat interesting; never before had anyone seen the assassin beg for mercy, much less cry.

"Fine,' the Vampire Lord said shortly and released the injured arm. Slay fell back onto his bed, clutching tightly to his arm. Blood was already soaking through the bandages and running onto the bed. Sinclair narrowed his eyes and said sternly, "Tell me what happened tonight when you and my dealers were attacked."

Slay looked up at Sinclair, an expression of pure loathing in his eyes, and said bitterly, "There had to be over fifty, perhaps even well over that." The Vampire Lord held Slay's hateful gaze for a moment before turning away and asking, "Anything else concerning this whole mess?"

The assassin thought for a moment, then said, "One of the Vampires, before they attacked us, said something about how some guy named Alexander would be pleased for stealing the shipment." The name suddenly struck Sinclair; he knew exactly who this Alexander was.

Alexander was a faithful costumer of his, if that was appropriate to call him. All he was, was another human that had fallen into addiction to the Blood Ring. _But what the hell does he have to do with anything? _Sinclair mused silently to himself. He highly doubted that Vampires would be listening to a human and attack the merchandise of somebody as powerful as Sinclair.

Then again, the recent days had been filled with more craziness and unexpected events than the Vampire Lord had seen in quite some time; he both enjoyed it, and hated it at the same time. "If that's all, then I suppose I'm done with you for the time being, Slay. Continue to get your rest," Sinclair said calmly and walked out of the chamber with Alucard following behind on his heels.

When they were further down the hall, he said to Alucard, "I want to know exactly where this ambush took place so I can go there and track the dirty cowards' scents myself and find who did this." His second-in-command suddenly grabbed onto his wrist and said, "You can't do that, Sir."

Sinclair shot a furious glare at Alucard, causing the black-haired Vampire to quickly let go and back down a bit. "And why can't I do such a thing?" Sinclair inquired, his anger still apparent in his voice. Alucard shifted nervously on his feet and said, "Because of the human you became a Donor to, remember? If you leave the enclave and distance yourself too far from him for too long, he'll die."

Sinclair growled; he had forgotten all about the human boy while in the midst of his rage. "That little detail slipped my mind," he admitted, despite how much it pained him to.

Anyone else would have cared less at this point about a human that they Donated to, but not Sinclair; he wanted to see if the human would live through the Transition, and if he did, then the human would more than likely be a very valuable addition to the Clan.

"Well, if I can't find them myself, then round up several of the others and send them to the location of the attack once you find out where it happened," Sinclair ordered. Alucard nodded and started off down the hall to take out the orders, but the Vampire Lord stopped him.

"Wait a moment, Alucard," he said. The second-in-command stopped and had a nervous look of confusion on his face. "Yes, Sir?" he asked cautiously.

Sinclair glanced back down the hall at Slay's room and said, "Also, I want an eye kept on Slay. His blood, it didn't smell right in there. I believe he may have contracted Blight during the tussle, and if he has, then it won't be long before he becomes a problem and we have no choice but to get rid of him."

Alucard's expression was that of one of surprise and shock. Of course he didn't smell the difference in the blood; he was a half-human, half-Vampire mix, and his senses weren't nearly as keen as they were for those of Pure blood.

But the second-in-command nodded and said, "Will do, Sir. All will be handled." Sinclair dismissed Alucard and sent him on his way. When the Vampire Lord was alone in the hallway, he leaned against the rocky wall and ran a hand through his hair and let loose an exhausted sigh.

He hadn't gotten adequate enough sleep the past day or so, and between that and the recent stress, he was feeling the full effects of it all. Rest was what he needed, but there was no time for that; not until things had quieted down a bit. In the meantime, he would just have to settle for a drink of blood.

* * *

next week is going to be really stressful, seeing as its state testing week. *gulps* wish me luck. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	9. Giving In

_~O~_

Sinclair downed a fourth glass of blood and set the chalice on the table he sat at in the room where the plastic bags of blood for consumption were kept. His head still pounded at every little sound; this time, it was the hum of the machine that kept the blood baggies cool.

He was tempted to go over there and destroy the infernal contraption to rid himself of the noise, but decided against it. He ran a hand through his golden hair and sighed heavily. How had things suddenly become so hectic, so fast? It made no sense.

The things that were going on should have been weeks to months in the making. Instead, it was all coming down at the same time. There was the problem with the shortage of the blood mixture, the issue of an increasing Blight epidemic, and now it appeared as though Alexander somehow managed to gain control of the city's Vampire population and command them.

To Sinclair's right, the door slowly opened, and Loran cautiously stepped in. "Sir?" the gray-haired, young Vampire said nervously. Sinclair could see that his Clan members were still unsure as to whether or not he had simmered down now, and they apparently weren't taking any chances of trying to anger the Vampire Lord if he was.

"Yes?" Sinclair asked calmly and cut open another plastic bag of blood and poured it into his chalice. He caught a glimpse of Loran eyeing the crimson liquid, and he figured that the young Vampire hadn't had his daily dose.

So, Sinclair tilted the chalice back on his lips, took a small drink, then told Loran, "Tear you open a bag and sit." Loran nodded and hurried over to the fridge, selected a bag from the AB Positive section, and poured it into a clear glass. With his glass of blood in hand, Loran sat across from Sinclair.

The gray-haired Vampire greedily took a sip from his glass, and licked the excess blood from his lips. Sinclair caught a glimpse of a shiver pass through Loran, and he couldn't help but to asked, "When was the last time you drank?" Loran suddenly looked a bit self-conscious.

The young Vampire adverted his gaze down into the glass as he said, "Probably the day that we brought that human here. So, at least two or three days. I've just been so occupied with keeping an eye on the human, Zoran, and now Slay and the injured Vampires that I haven't been taking very good care of myself."

Sinclair's lips curled up into a faint smile as he said under his breath, "The Humanitarian of Vampires." Loran looked up at the Vampire Lord with his charcoal-gray eyes and asked, "Did you say something, Sir?" Sinclair smiled and shook his head.

"Don't mind me," he told the underling, "I was just musing to myself. On a side note, you really need to think of yourself sometimes. I know your family lineage prevents you and Zoran from succumbing to Bloodlust, but that doesn't mean you are able to starve yourselves without consequence."

Loran gave a single, understanding nod and took another large gulp from his glass. "I'm aware, Sir. It won't happen again," the underling promised and set his glass back down on the table. Sinclair leaned back in his chair and said, "Now, you came in here looking for me, so I assume that you wanted to speak to me about something?"

Loran's eyes lit up as he remembered what it was he entered the room for. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. It's about Slay. I checked in on him a little while ago after I made sure the other injured Vampires were fine. And, well, Slay isn't looking very-" Sinclair held up his hand and stopped Loran in the middle of his statement.

"I know that Slay isn't well. He more than likely contracted Blight during the ambush." Loran's face drained of his color upon hearing this. "Blight? Are you sure, Sir?" he asked cautiously. Sinclair nodded and took a decent-sized swig of his chalice of blood as he braced himself to carry on their conversation.

"Yes. I smelled it in his blood when I went in there with Alucard. I know he's infected with it, but I'm holding onto the hope that he didn't contract enough of the Blight for it to take root in his system," the Vampire Lord stated calmly. Loran's eyes were wide with interest now.

"Is that even possible?" he asked, "The part about him not coming in contact with enough of the Blight, that is." Sinclair gazed up at the rocky ceiling and sighed. "I've heard stories of Vampires surviving Blight-inflicted wounds before, if they're strong enough. And I firmly believe Slay is stronger than most of the Vampires in the Clan. But it is possible that that's all those stories are. Stories."

Sinclair took another long drink from the crimson-filled chalice. His throat and mouth were coated with the coppery residue of the blood, and the Vampire Lord could feel his mind growing foggy as he gorged himself on more blood than what should have been consumed in one sitting; now, he felt like an overstuffed tick, to put it into lighter terms.

Loran pursed his lips together, then said, "What if Slay isn't strong enough to fight off the Blight, or if the stories you've heard aren't true? Then how long do we have until he succumbs to the infection?" Sinclair thought this over, and he probably could have given Loran an answer if his mind wasn't feeling so cloudy.

So, unable to think of anything else, he told the underling, "I'm not entirely sure." He lifted his hand, which was trembling slightly for some reason, and ran it through his hair.

Loran must have seen this, for he said, "Sir, I think you might want to lay down and get some rest. You've been up and running around day and night the past couple of days, and you also never took a rest after becoming that human's Donor like you should have. Your body will give out on you, and then you'll be in no condition to run the Clan. And we need you to lead us even more than ever now with all of the issues with Blight and the recent attack."

Sinclair sighed and said stubbornly, "I can keep going for a couple more days. I know the limitations of my own body, Loran. So, please don't tell me what is best for me when I know myself better than anyone else." The underling adverted his gaze down to the table, a look of defeat and worry in his gray eyes.

"Alright, Sir," he said quietly. Sinclair grunted and finished off the last of his fifth chalice of blood. Now, he could tell his vision had clouded over a bit, but he was still able to clearly make things out. He stood up and was about to go retrieve another bag of blood when he heard the tell-tale sounds of a gun being fired in the enclave.

The concussion from the shot echoed throughout the cavern walls, magnifying how loud it really was. The sound made Sinclair's aching, sensitive head explode with a new wave of pain. He leaned against the cooling chamber's door, the cool glass touching his skin leaving behind a nice, numbing feeling.

Loran had jumped up from his seat, his eyes wild with confusion. "What's going on?" he asked, knowing good and well that Sinclair was just as lost as he was. The gray-haired underling ran up to the Vampire Lord and said, "Come on! We have to go see what that was! The enclave might be under attack or something!"

Sinclair fought through the fogginess of his mind and realized that Loran was right; there was a possibility that they were under attack when he thought about it. The Vampire Lord chased after the gray-haired underling and towards the source of the gunshot.

There was another round that was fired, and it sounded like it came from the living quarters. Sinclair and Loran hurried in that direction, and just as they were about to turn down the cavernous hallway, a blur of color shot by them and hurried towards the main room.

Alucard chased behind the blur, but stopped at where Sinclair and Loran stood. The gray-haired Vampire asked, "What's going on?" The second-in-command had a scowl on his face, and a flintlock-style pistol in his hands.

"Slay…You were right, Sinclair. He was infected with Blight. I kept an eye on him like you said, but I didn't think he would have succumbed that quickly," Alucard said sharply, "I landed a good shot on him, but it might not be fatal. I don't have time to stay here and chat, I have to stop him before he gets out of the enclave."

He ran past Loran and Sinclair towards the main room. The two followed after him, and when they reached the large chamber, they caught a glimpse of Slay just as the newly-inflicted Vampire rammed into the door, breaking it open and running into the awaiting night.

Sinclair recalled the eyes, and how wild and feral they were with Blight, and he knew that if Alucard's shot wasn't fatal, then there was yet another threat to the Blood Ring and people out in the city now. Alucard stood in the center of the main room, flintlock clutched in his hands, and curse words flowing freely from his mouth.

"I almost had him," he hissed under his breath. Loran approached the seething Vampire and asked, "Did Slay scratch anyone?" The second-in-command shook his head and said, "No. Thank heavens for that." Alucard's gaze then shifted over to Sinclair.

Bright, purple eyes narrowed at the Vampire Lord when Alucard asked him, "When Slay ran past you, why didn't you stop him? I know your reflexes and senses are well above everyone else's here. You could have easily sensed he was coming and captured him, maybe even killed him if you had a good enough grip on him. So, why didn't you?"

A small audience had gathered around with all of the sudden commotion. Confusion filled the surrounding faces as Alucard singled Sinclair out on this. The black-haired Vampire took a step closer to the Vampire Lord, and sniffed the air surrounding him.

And Sinclair knew that even though Alucard's senses weren't nearly as acute as other Vampire's, the half-breed could still smell. "You've been over-drinking blood again," he hissed and stepped away in disgust.

Loran quickly stepped in and said defensively, "Alucard, don't blame anything on Sinclair. He only drank so much because he hasn't been getting adequate rest, and he needed something to-"

Alucard cut Loran off mid-sentence by pointing the barrel of the flintlock pistol at the face of the gray-haired Vampire. Loran's eyes grew wide with shock.

"Shut your mouth, Loran. I am in no mood to hear you spill your Humanitarian of Vampires bit now. Got it? I don't care if Sinclair isn't well-rested at the moment. Because of his over-drinking of the blood, Slay, who is in the full grip of Blight, escaped!"

Loran flinched with each word that Alucard shouted. It appeared that the second-in-command was about to add something else onto his rant, but Sinclair stepped in before he had the chance to say anything else.

"Stand down, Alucard," Sinclair said in a powerful voice, "I may not be fully coherent at the moment, but I am still more than capable of taking you to the ground and putting you back in your place. So, lower your gun and go cool down before things turn ugly."

Alucard narrowed his eyes at both Sinclair and Loran before stalking off. The young, gray-haired underling ran up to Sinclair and said, "Thanks for that, Sir. I was sure he might have tried to shoot-" Sinclair shot a deadly glare down at Loran, which caused the younger to cower down.

"As for you, I don't need you standing up for me and defending me, understand?" he asked bitterly. Loran nodded. Sinclair then turned on his heels and stalked off down a neighboring hallway without saying another word, and leaving the room in total silence.

_~O~_

It was almost like Shun could still feel the foreign blood flowing through his veins, but that wasn't possible. How could he feel the blood moving? He figured it had to be a side-effect from whatever those psychos did to him. His body ached with fever, and his breath was still hard to catch and keep in a steady rhythm.

He wished for it to end somehow, all the pain he was in. His eyes remained closed all the time, so anytime he did feel as though he were awake, all he saw was the darkness of his eyelids. Occasionally he heard shouting or yelling from another room far away, but he wasn't inclined to try and get up and see what was going on.

At this point, he had lost track of how long he had been bed-ridden from his pain, and no longer knew the day, or whether it was day or night. There were times when he couldn't think clearly, and he thought that he was back home, only to recall that he had never left the place where he was being held captive.

Shun had also thrown up until there was nothing left in him. And even though his stomach screamed for something fill the empty void, he had no desire to eat; the thought of it repulsed him. It wasn't just the fever that took away his appetite, but also his fear that the monsters holding him hostage might somehow make him ingest blood again.

The thought alone made his stomach flip, and he was sure he would have thrown up again if he had anything left. But even through all of the pain and agony, he could feel that his body was still fighting off whatever circulated through his veins; the thing was, he was sure his body was losing.

Shun let out a whimper as he felt his fever spike further, and he could feel several of his vital organs shutting down one by one with this increase of temperature. He thought it a miracle that he hadn't been totally fried by his own fever at this point.

Pain exploded in a new location with each passing second as more and more of his body lost the fight against whatever was assaulting him on the inside. Realizes that this was probably the end, he started to feel the regrets coming on.

He regretted not being able to get those pills to his grandfather, while also not being able to really let the old man know how much he meant to Shun. He regretted not speaking to his friends in years, and he wished that he had spoken to them after he ran into Alice at the drug store. _Alice. _

That was probably Shun's biggest regret. He wished that he had somehow worked up the courage to let her know what she meant to him, how important she was to his very being, even though she and nobody else had the slightly clue about it. Shun could now feel himself teetering on the fine-line between life and death.

_No point in trying to fight this off anymore, _he thought to himself, _it's all over for me anyway. _Using the amazing human ability to force mind over body, he told his body to stop fighting against the foreign intruder that it tried so hard to burn out, and was going to allow it to finish him off, to take him away from the pain and suffering. He was tired of fighting, and now he was giving up. And in the following minutes, Shun realized that giving up may have just been the best thing he ever did.

* * *

and things are heating up! sorry if there is a lot of OC in this story, but it's mainly just going to be in the beginning. Once we get Shun firmly back into the picture, it will focus less around Sinclair and the others; i just wanted to get you guys to know about them more and set things up. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	10. Waking Up

_~O~_

Another night went by, and more murders had sprung up throughout the late night hours. With all of the mindless killings, the city was on edge, and so was Alice. Marucho's parents had even made sure to check their security system to see if everything was running smoothly.

The violent murders had seemed to be increasing every night, adding at least fifty more victims to the last number from the night before. The police, who had been investigating furiously since the first city-wide slaughter, still had no new leads. They had no evidence, no fingerprints, nothing.

At first, people were saying it was probably some new gang with sick and twisted intentions, but people were starting to wonder if it could really be the working of a gang, even a large one. There was no way for even one of the larger gangs to cover that much ground, kill people all throughout the city, and then drain the blood from their victims like some kind of savages.

Alice shuddered and wrapped herself up in her arms for comfort. On top of the death toll rising each day, there had also been no new word from Shun. When the killings first started, everyone had been optimistic and said that Shun had probably just stopped in a hotel or someplace to get away from his grandfather for a bit.

But as the days went on, and the killings increased, Alice was finding it harder and harder to remain optimistic. She couldn't help but think that the raven-haired teen had been caught by whoever, or whatever, was slaughtering innocent people. Alice's eyes watered up with tears, and sobs threatened to escape from her grasp.

She had tried to appear strong, that she was still looking on the brighter side of things, but her façade was breaking more and more with each day. She wondered how things could have taken such a turn for the worse. Alice thought when she came to Marucho's the visit the others, things would be like old times; she couldn't foresee mass killings popping up in the middle of the night, and the possible murder of a dear friend.

It was all too much for her to handle. A sob escaped past her lips. She wanted to go home, she wanted to turn back to the hands of time and keep all of these bad things from happening. She didn't want to be in the middle of all of this madness anymore. But she couldn't leave, even if she wanted to.

News reports the other day and informed the local populace that all means of transportation were to be ceased. Nobody could get in or out, by car, bus, foot, or plane. It was a means that the authorities had to resort to in order to try and keep whoever was killing people, within the confines of the city.

Alice's sobs came out more freely as she finally let go of the torrential emotions she had been trying to keep in order. Runo, who had been sitting on the sofa across from her, got up and joined Alice's side. The bluenette placed a comforting hand on Alice's shoulder and told her, "It'll be alright. They'll catch the people doing this and then things will start going back to normal."

Alice slapped Runo's hand away and she turned to face her shocked friend. "No, things won't go back to normal, Runo, and you know that," she said through tears, "Nothing will be normal after this. What's going on out there will be remembered for years, perhaps forever. The people who were killed will never come back, they won't experience normal ever again…Shun won't come back, he won't experience normal ever again."

Alice broke out into body-racking sobs and buried her face into Runo's shoulder. The others now stood around the room, obviously drawn from whatever they had previously been doing to come and see what the yelling and crying was about. Their faces turned somber and grim when Alice said those words; they all knew she was probably right, that Shun really had been one of the initial victims when the killings first started.

Even though his name hadn't been listed on those who had been found, there were still a good many of people who were unidentifiable. Alice removed her face from Runo's shoulder and said in a shaky whisper, "I cared, you know….About him….I never had the courage to tell him, and now I never will."

Alice had never been brave enough to tell Shun how she viewed him, how she felt. And now, she had regrets. She regretted that she hadn't told him when she ran into him at the store the day of his disappearance. She regretted never telling him when she had the chance prior to that day. Alice had always tried to make him see that she cared, even when he might have thought nobody else did.

Now, he was gone, she just knew it. There would be no chance to tell him the secrets she had been keeping hidden from him; not face-to-face, at least. Runo embraced Alice in a hug to try and comfort the crying girl. Alice felt a little bit better, knowing that she wasn't as alone in this world gone mad as she thought, but it didn't do anything to soothe the pain of immense loss the hung in the air of the city.

Runo patted Alice's shoulder and said, "How about you go and lay down for a bit and get some rest? That might make you feel a bit better and help you calm down." Alice wiped the tears from her face with the heel of her hand. She wasn't all that tired, or, at least, she didn't think she was; at the moment, she couldn't really tell if it was fatigue or loss that was eating at her brain.

Probably a little bit of both. Alice nodded and allowed Runo to escort her down the hallway to her room. As they walked, Alice adverted her gaze away from the bluenette and said, "I'm sorry for causing a scene back there." Runo smiled sadly and told her, "It's alright, Alice. We're all a bit on edge and scared. I think the others were just taken aback because they didn't expect you to be the first to snap."

Alice smiled slightly. She could only guess at what was running through the minds of Dan and the others back there after they witnessed her little scene. For some reason, she found it somewhat amusing. They had always seen her so calm and collected, rational and positive.

That side she just allowed to surface must have been something else entirely knew to them. Alice finally reached her room, and Runo asked if she needed anything else. Alice shook her head and Runo went on back down the hallway to return to the others, and probably tell them that everything was fine.

The orange-haired girl entered her room and immediately plopped down on the bed. The mattress groaned beneath the sudden weight that was placed on it. Now, Alice stared up at the Spackle ceiling, committing every bump and imperfection in the ceiling to memory to pass the time until she fell asleep.

It didn't take long for her mind to grow weary, and for her conscience to seek refuge from all of the stress that the recent events had placed on everyone. When she did slip into a light sleep, she fell into a dream. She was standing in an alleyway, surrounded by trash and other filth that made her turn her nose up in disgust. Why was she in such an unclean place?

Above her, the moon shone bright and full. It cast a light down into the dark alley, illuminating some places, while creating shadows in others. Further ahead, the sound of a metal can rolling over the ground startled Alice. She jumped back, her heart already racing with adrenaline.

Then, she saw a dark, silhouetted figure step out of a neighboring alley. Panic started to flood into Alice. Was this one of the people who had been killing in the night? The figure turned to face her, and her heart dropped. All she could make out were the eyes, the bright, amber colored eyes that she knew from anywhere.

The figure then ran down another neighboring alley, and Alice instantly began chasing after him. "Shun!" she called after him. "Shun, wait!" She rounded the corner of the alley, and stopped dead in her tracks. Her stomach did a complete flip and threatened for her to be sick. Laying on the ground in a pool of blood and littered with deep gashes, was Shun.

_No, _Alice thought to herself, _I just saw you. I saw you running! How could this have happened that fast? _Tears streaked from her eyes as she stared at the site of her friend, of the person that she secretly cared about. Alice took a cautious step closer, and when she did, she felt something drop down from above and land behind her.

She tried to spin around, but a pair of hands latched onto her, preventing her from going anywhere. One hand covered her mouth and kept her from crying out for help. The hand was covered with blood, and her assailant smeared it on her face and mouth.

Alice knew that the blood had to be Shun's, and the fact that whoever killed him was about to kill her too, made her feel sick to her stomach. Right when she was ready to give up her struggle, her eyes flew open, and Alice found herself still laying in her bed at Marucho's, still alive and breathing. Unharmed.

She placed her hand on her racing heart and cried tears of both sorrow and relief. It had been a dream. No, a nightmare. And because of that nightmare, there wouldn't be anymore sleep for a while until her nerves allowed for it.

_~O~_

Shun's eyes slowly opened, much to his surprise. How could they open? He was supposed to be dead? He had given up on trying to fight and live. So, how could he still be alive? Shun looked around at his surroundings. He was still in the same room that he had been in since his living hell began, but something appeared different to him about the room.

Everything looked more…enhanced. Colors were more vibrant, and he could clearly see cracks in the wall across the room. It was like somebody had turned on the world's high-definition. Cautiously, Shun pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning back on his hands for support and to keep from falling back down.

His arms trembled a bit under his weight. Shun then realized that the pain and fever that plagued his body, were completely gone. Some of his muscles still ached a bit, as if he had done some sort of strenuous exercise, but that ache paled in comparison to the pain he had been experiencing.

_What the hell is going on? _he thought to himself. He knew for a fact he should be dead. His body should have been boiled and damaged beyond repair by his fever. And yet, here he was, still alive and breathing, if not better. Shun tensed up when he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching his room. If he really was better now, then he certainly was in the proper condition to get far away from this place.

He threw the covers back and clambered out of the bed. When his feet hit the floor and stood up, his legs suddenly buckled beneath him. He landed hard on the cold, stone floor. _Damn, _he thought to himself, _I don't have enough strength back to walk yet. _

He growled and tried his best to get himself off the floor, but would only fall back down, as if gravity was working against him. The door then flung open, and two people walked in. One was the gray-haired guy who had made Shun drink blood against his will.

The other was the man with golden-hair that had nearly killed Shun. The raven-haired teen tensed up and attempted to get away, but his weakened body wasn't going to allow it. The golden-haired man knelt down near Shun and said with a smile, "You're not going to be running anywhere for a while. Not unless you drink blood to help gain your strength back quicker than you would without it. But from what Loran told me about the last time we gave you blood, you aren't too partial to it."

Shun's body had tensed up as he braced himself for whatever the stranger was planning on doing to him. "You're not going to get me to drink blood again," he said sternly, but his voice wavered at the end. The stranger chuckled and said, "You say that now, but you'll have to eventually, seeing as you're now a creature that depends on it for survival." Shun stared at the stranger as if the man had gone mental.

Creature that depended on blood to live? "You're insane," Shun spat, "I'm not some freak. You guys and your little cult might think you need to drink blood to live, but I don't. That's sick." Suddenly, the stranger had closed the distance between him and Shun, and he had a tight grip on the raven-haired boy's jaw.

The stranger forced Shun to look at him. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. This is no cult, my friend. And you, are not any mere human anymore. I'm sure you've noticed how your senses have enhanced," he mused and let go of Shun's jaw. The raven-haired teen rubbed the spot where the stranger's fingers had clamped down.

Shun had noticed that his vision had apparently improved, but his other senses as well? Perhaps when he heard their footsteps coming down the hall that had been a display of these so-called enhanced senses. Maybe they hadn't been echoes like he thought. Shun shook his.

No, he couldn't allow himself to believe any of this craziness. He was probably in the grips of a fever-induced dream right now as he waited for his body to continue to fail. The stranger narrowed his eyes at Shun and asked, "Do you want to know why you're alive, right now? Why you are better and no longer struggling to breathe?"

Shun stared at the man for a moment, then cautiously nodded. The golden-haired stranger looked him dead in the eye and said, "It's because you made your body stop fighting against my blood. As long as you would have continued to fight it, my blood would just have continued to slowly kill you. But when you stopped, that allowed it to take root and allow you to live by turning you into what you are now." Shun gulped and asked nervously, "And w-what might that be?" The stranger smiled slyly and told him, "A Vampire."

* * *

Hey, guys, go and check out a website called Good Reads. **I've started a story on there (not a fanfic)**, so if any of you want to check it out, _go to the website, then_ _click under explore and go to Creative Writing._ Once there, either _search for a story called Dead Winter by Nikoru Peri_, or look under the search tags that include_ zombie, dystopian, horror, survival, winter, wilderness, wilderness-survival, apocalypse, etc._ If you can't find it and want to read it, send me a message and I'll send you a link. Thanks for the support! Read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


	11. The Truth Hurts

_~O~_

Shun started laughing. "You really are mental, aren't you?" he asked the stranger. "Vampires? Really? There's no such thing." The stranger rolled his eyes and waved a stepped away from the still-laughing teen. "Humans…..Despite their fragile beauty, their ignorance is unparalleled. What would I have to do to prove to you what I am, and what you are now?" asked the stranger.

Shun calmed his laughter for a moment and said, "How about turning into a bat? Or standing in front of a mirror to see if you have a reflection?" The stranger narrowed his eyes down at the human. "Hollywood stereotypes of Vampires. We don't transform into bats, and we do have reflections like any other creature on this planet," he said brusquely.

Shun had calmed down enough that the sheer thought of these people thinking they were Vampires didn't cause him to burst out into laughter, but it still brought a slight grin to his face. "Alright, then. Do you sparkle in the sunlight?" he asked and couldn't help but chuckle at the end of his sarcastic question. This was all just too ludicrous for him to believe.

The stranger's expression was border-lining with rage. Behind him, the gray-haired youth that had made Shun drink blood a couple days prior, looked back and forth between Shun and the golden-haired man, a look of worry and anxiety on his face.

He cautiously approached the stranger and said nervously, "Um, Sir? M-maybe I should be the one to elaborate and explain everything to him, seeing as your temper has been a bit unpredictable lately. We don't want you doing anything to-"

The golden-haired stranger's eyes suddenly flashed violently, and he swung around, connecting his arm with the gray-haired youth's body, and sent the boy flying across the room. He slammed in the cavern-like wall and landed in a heap on the floor. Shun stared, wide-eyed and in shock, then quickly looked up at the stranger.

His eyes were ablaze with sudden anger that looked as if it had been bundled up for a while. Shun was trembling slightly now; what if this maniac turned that anger on him? The way the stranger had flung that boy, and with that much strength would have been impossible for any human to do, no matter how strong.

This stranger's strength could pretty much be called…._Inhuman, _Shun thought to himself and a shiver traveled down his spine at the word. The golden-haired man straightened up and squared his shoulders back; the rage in his eyes seemed to have died down a bit, but it was still somewhat visible.

"Loran," he said calmly and looked over at the boy he had flung across the room, "I do apologize for that. You just got caught in the crossfire." Shun stared in disbelief. This guy might have killed, or seriously injured that boy, and he was apologizing as if it were nothing?

On the other side of the room, the boy struggled up to his feet, holding on tightly to his right arm, the one that had made contact with the wall, and bowed. "It's quite alright, Sir…..I shouldn't have been standing so close," he said calmly, but Shun could hear the fear still lingering in the boy's voice.

The stranger nodded, then said, "Now, if you would be so kind, Loran, get our guest back situated so he can continue to rest and regain the rest of his strength before we show him around the enclave. It shouldn't take him more than a few hours to fully recuperate, seeing as how quickly he started healing after the Transition."

The gray-haired boy, Loran, bowed his head again and said, "Will do, Sir." The golden-haired stranger nodded and turned on his heels, then strode out of the room. Shun was still on the floor where he had been stopped while trying to crawl away. Loran, still clutching his arm, knelt down before the raven-haired teen.

Shun's eyes fell onto the injured arm and saw a small bloodstain on the shirt sleeve. "That…..That impact should have killed you," Shun muttered in disbelief. Loran glanced down at his injured arm and said calmly, "It takes a lot more to kill one of our kind. You'll learn about that eventually. But for right now, there's no need to worry about me. We heal rather quickly. Do you need help standing?"

Shun thought for a moment, then tried to see if anymore of his strength had returned to him; he was able to get to his feet, but his legs still wobbled beneath him a bit. Loran nodded and said, "Looks like you might recuperate quicker than a couple more hours. I'm thinking more along the lines of within the hour. But that doesn't make a difference. You still need adequate rest after the Transition."

Shun's mind felt like it might explode at any minute. With all the things that had just transpired, to how Loran could talk about these kinds of things as if they were nothing. The raven-haired teen sat down on the edge of the plush bed he had been given and ran a slightly trembling hand through his hair.

"All of this…..It's real?…..Vampires are…..Real?" he asked, still not fully believing the words. But he had seen the man with golden hair show signs of strength that no mere human should have. And then there was Loran, who had survived being flung into a stone wall at a high speed, and was up and walking around as if he had only tripped or stumbled.

Loran nodded and told him, "Yes, Vampires are real. You seem to have accepted it better than most humans do when they find out. Usually the humans who learn about us think they've gone insane or were drugged by somebody." Shun thought to sound of being insane or drugged was better than this new truth that was standing before him.

He then looked down at himself, at his trembling hands, and at his weakened legs, then said, "And now…..I'm one too?….." Shun didn't think he looked any different, and for the most part, he really didn't feel any different either; except for his vision and hearing being better.

Loran nodded. "Yes, and I fear that it's my fault for this. I am the one who suggested that we Turn you, instead of killing you like some of the others were suggesting. So, I don't blame you if you hold a hatred towards me. It was a choice that was made against your will, and I know how humans like having choices. But I don't believe in killing something or someone who doesn't have to die," he said and chuckled before adding, "I guess that's why Alucard calls me the Humanitarian of Vampires."

Shun adverted his gaze away. How did he feel knowing that before him was the one responsible for making this happen to him? Did he harbor ill feelings, or did it really not matter, seeing as it was done in an effort to allow Shun to continue living, even if it was as something else entirely?

He decided that he would decipher through that another day. Right now, his mind was in condition to try and think through all of this. Shun looked over at the door that the golden-haired stranger had recently exited from. "What about him?" Shun asked, "What's his deal?" Loran looked at the door as well, then sighed. At this point, the gray-haired youth had stopped clutching his injured arm, and Shun figured it must have already healed.

"That was Sinclair, our Clan leader and ruling of the Blood Ring. Please, do excuse his previous actions. He's not a bad guy, but he does have quite the temper from time-to-time. Especially lately, since there's been a lot going on. He's under a lot of stress," Loran explained.

Shun glanced at where Loran had been thrown into the wall and muttered under his breath, "No kidding…." He then turned to the gray-haired youth and said, "You mentioned something a Blood Ring? What exactly…What exactly is that?" Shun felt nervous at knowing the truth, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him; if he was going to be involved with these 'people,' then he at least deserved to know everything about them, right?

Loran ran a hand through is gray hair and said, "It's kind of like a Drug Ring, or organization. We go and distribute a mixture of human and Vampire blood and sell it to whoever will buy it, whether they be human or Vampire." Shun tensed up, but tried to remain as calm as possible.

"So, like a cartel, huh?….How…..How do you get the blood from humans? You guys don't…..You know…" He couldn't even really finish the rest of his question; the thought that people were killed for business made Shun feel sick to his stomach. But it also made him feel fortunate, for he hadn't been killed for profit, which made him wonder why he had been spared. Surely it couldn't have been just because Loran stood up for him.

There had to be something more. The gray-haired Vampire shook his head. "No, no. We don't kill the humans to get their blood. We have a large network of humans we work with. They donate their blood to us, and in turn, we pay them for their contribution. As for the Vampire part of the mix, we either give our own blood, or we pay others to give as well. Nobody is killed unless they have to be. Or, at least, that's how it's supposed to be. Sometimes majority vote rules out what's right."

Shun could hear in Loran's voice how this troubled him. The raven-haired teen then worked up the nerve to ask the question that had been boring a hole into the back of his head for the past couple of minutes.

"Why….Why wasn't I killed, then?….I saw one of your people killing somebody, and he knocked me out, I think…Why didn't your leader Sinclair kill me? He could have ignored your request to Turn me or whatever. So, why?" he asked, his voice rising a bit towards the end.

Loran shifted his weight from foot to foot and said, "It's because you have Bad Blood. Some of the others suggested draining you, seeing as you witnessed Slay killing an overdue client, and they feared you might give Slay's description to the authorities if we let you go. But your blood isn't exactly highly sought after, thus why it's referred to as Bad Blood. All it would have done was sit in a fridge somewhere and go stale. So, they wanted to just kill you instead, and that was when I stepped up and said that by Turning you, you'd have no choice but to become loyal to the Blood Ring."

Shun looked dead into Loran's gray eyes and asked with all seriousness, "I don't have to become a part of this, do I? The Blood Ring, that is. You were just making something up so I wouldn't have to die, right?" Shun felt a bit of panic rising up inside of him. It had been a lie, right?

Loran looked away, a look resembling shame on his face, and said, "I'm sorry. This is another reason I told you it wouldn't bother me if you harbored hate towards me for causing you to be Turned. You are a part of the Blood Ring now, which means you are part of the Yoru Clan as well. And being that Sinclair, our leader, is your Donor, that makes you loyal to him, kind of like a servant or underling. You're bound to this place now, a part of it. And leaving it or trying to run away can result in punishment fit for betrayal and treason, which is almost always death."

Shun felt like something inside of him shattered. His shoulders slumped a bit, and a wave of despair washed over him. He was stuck here now as the servant to some bi-polar Vampire drug lord? What had he done to anger whatever higher power who allowed this to happen to him?

His life was different now, never to be the same again. Loran sighed heavily and turned towards the door to leave the room.

"Again, I am terribly sorry. I just don't like seeing somebody die when there is another way, and because of that, I sometimes don't think the consequences all the way through. Anyway, please, do finish resting up. Either Sinclair or I will be by later to see how you're doing. More than likely me, if he hasn't simmered down enough."

Loran started out of the door, but Shun stopped him. "Wait," the raven-haired teen called out. The gray-haired Vampire stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Yes?" Shun tightened his hands into fists, and the area around his knuckles turned white. His question then spilled out of his mouth like water bursting from a dam.

"What about my family and friends? If I'm stuck here now, does that mean I won't be able to see them again, or talk to them?" he asked and felt tears stinging at the edges of his eyes. Shun's life may have been turned upside down, but he didn't want to lose the only things he had left dear to him.

He didn't want to be alone in this strange new world. Loran leaned against the doorframe and said, "You should able to see them, but if you do, you need to make sure not to speak of any of this. None of Sinclair, none of the Blood Ring, and none of Vampires. You also need to do everything in your power to make sure that this new nature you've adopted doesn't reveal itself. If it does, then there is a chance that you might hurt the people you care about."

He started out of the room, then stopped himself and added, "Oh, and if you do happen to go out into daylight, I suggest wearing a long-sleeve or a hooded-jacket. The sunlight won't make you burst into flames, but your skin will be a bit more sensitive to it now, and it will give you a pretty nasty sunburn. Just a little tip."

Loran then left from the room and vanished around the corner and down the hallway. Shun stared down at the stone floor for the longest time, before finally laying down on his side and bringing his knees up, curling into a fetal-position so he could try and hide away from the new life that surrounded him.

He was somewhat relieved that he didn't have to give up the people he cared about, but it still didn't change the fact that he wasn't the same anymore. What would his friends do if they ever found out about what he had been turned into?

Would they think he was crazy, or would they believe him and see him as a monster? _Monster. _Shun recalled back to when that oddly-dressed boy with the eye-patch said that to him. _He was right, _Shun thought to himself, _I am a monster now._

* * *

**check out my story I've started on a website called Good Reads; it's called Dead Winter. To get to it you go to the website, go to Extras, click Creative Writing, and go to the Genre of Horror and search for the story Dead Winter by Nikoru Peri.** I'll probably post the link to the story on my profile sometime during the day. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	12. Interview With A Vampire

_~O~_

Shun paced around his bedside, testing his legs and making sure they could hold his weight now; and they could. It how surprised him how quickly his new body healed. From the time that Loran departed from the room, it had taken ten minutes for Shun to be able to easily move his limbs, when before that they had been too weak.

Twenty minutes, and he was able to stand on his feet for more than a couple of minutes. Forty minutes, and he was up and walking around as if he had never been on the verge of death. Now, he was just enjoying the fact that he was able to move around and function normally, and that he wasn't suffering through the pain any longer. The door to his room suddenly opened, and Loran stepped in.

"Ah, I see I was right when I said that you'd probably recuperate within the hour," he said as he cleared the door. Shun faced Loran and said, "Yeah, looks that way." The gray-haired Vampire cleared his throat, then said, "Well, if you wouldn't mind following me, please…..Um, might I get your name? I don't believe that you've told us yet." The raven-haired teen nodded and said calmly, "Shun."

Loran rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "I see. Well, Shun, please follow me then." The young Vampire started out of the room, and Shun chased after him, asking, "Where are we going?" He looked around, taking in the gothic-like style of the cavernous walls and the torches that were nailed in every so many feet. As they turned down another corridor, Loran said to him, "Sinclair's study."

Shun instantly tensed at the saying of Sinclair's name. It was a name that made Shun's skin crawl like the sound of nails on a chalkboard, or the horrible screeching of tires on pavement. The name made him sick to his stomach, because it was the name of the creature that changed his life.

It was the name of the thing's blood that now circulated through Shun's veins like it owned his body. "Why do we have to go there?" he asked to the gray-haired Vampire beside him. Loran straightened the collar of his shirt and said flatly, "You have to be introduced to the Clan and Blood Ring, and in order for that, Sinclair has to fill in the gaps I left open during our previous conversation. In other words, he's just going to be laying down some ground rules."

Shun nodded, but still didn't like the idea of seeing the Vampire that ruled over this place he now called home. "Any advice for me when I talk to him, seeing as I didn't exactly make a good first impression on him earlier?" Shun inquired. The raven-haired teen recalled how he had gotten on Sinclair's bad side, and in turn, the head Vampire had taken his anger out on Loran.

Quite frankly, Shun didn't want to be flung into a wall, despite the fact he could heal quickly. Loran glanced up at the ceiling as they walked, as if the answer to Shun's question resided up with the stalagmites. He finally said, "Just refer to him as Sir, speak only when directly spoken to, and try not to lash out at him with sarcasm. As I stated earlier, things have been hectic, and our Lord has been under quite a bit of stress. So, we all have been playing it extra safe in order to steer clear of his rage."

Shun nodded and mentally took note of the advice that Loran had just given to him. Before he knew it, they had arrived at Sinclair's study. The impressive door was closed, and Loran reached out and knocked twice on the thick gateway. Nobody came to the door for a few seconds, and Shun was just about to say that nobody may be inside, when the door slowly creaked open.

He half-expected to see Sinclair standing in the door. Instead, there was a man, who appeared to be around Sinclair's age, whatever that may be, with hair as black as Shun's, and eyes of vibrant purple. The man cut a cold glare at Loran, then faced Shun and said, "Do come in. He's waiting inside." Shun didn't have to ask who he was. He already knew; Sinclair.

Who else would it have been? The two entered the study, and the raven-haired teen found himself somewhat taken aback by the sheer space in the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and on those shelves there were books of all ages and sizes.

In the center of the room was a large desk with papers scattered about and ink pens lying around haphazardly. Shun glanced over to his right and saw Sinclair standing in the corner of the room. The Vampire Lord was leaning against the wall, a small table with a crystal drink set beside him.

In the drink set, there appeared to be a thick, crimson liquid inside; blood. Shun's stomach did a tiny flip as he thought back to how Loran had made him drink blood while unconscious. He quickly pushed down the sick-feeling and straightened up a bit. The last thing Shun wanted was to appear as scared as he felt. Sinclair took a sip of the blood in his crystal glass and started towards his desk.

"Please, everyone have a seat. There should be enough chairs," he said and pulled out his own chair on his side of the desk. Loran sat first, and Shun took the chair beside the gray-haired Vampire. The man with the black hair and purple eyes didn't sit though.

Instead, he went on the other side of the desk and stood beside Sinclair. The Vampire Lord smiled and glanced up at the company that had just joined him. "Ah, you don't know who this is, do you, human? This here is Alucard. He's my second-in-command, the one who runs the Blood Ring and Clan if I am unavailable or unable to. But sometimes he gets this absurd idea in his head that he has the right to take all matters into his hands."

Shun could hear by the way Sinclair said the end of his introduction of Alucard, that it hadn't meant to be sarcasm; it was meant to be a low blow. But Alucard didn't seem bothered by it. He just wore the same stoic expression of indifference.

Sinclair now turned his attention to the raven-haired teen in front of him and said, "Well, since we're doing introductions, how about you tell me your name?" Shun found himself unable to speak for a moment. This Sinclair was nothing like the one he saw back in the room. Nowhere near it.

This time, Sinclair appeared calm, and perhaps even approachable because he didn't seem as intimidating. For some reason, Shun didn't know if he should have been more terrified because of this. Sinclair snapped his fingers in front of the teen's face and said, "Hello? Your name?" Shun instantly picked up on a growing agitation in the Vampire's voice. _Just answer and listen, _he told himself.

"My name's Shun," he said then quickly added, "Sir." Sinclair leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "Ah, so it does have manners after all. I was wondering about that after I left your room earlier," the Vampire Lord mused. Shun felt offended by the snide remark, but he made sure not to show it. _Be indifferent, like Alucard back there. That should keep me safe, _he thought silently.

Sinclair's smile waned down to a slight grin now. "So, I take it that you've accepted and believe what I tried to tell you earlier?" Shun nodded. "Yes, Sir," he said obediently. Oh, he hated laying down like this and not being able to fight back. But what other choice did he have?

Sinclair could kill him, take away the life that he had been kind enough to let Shun kept. It wouldn't be smart to ruin this just because he couldn't keep his smart-mouth shut. The Vampire Lord glanced over at Loran and said, "I'm sure he has filled you in on some things about what you will be involved in. Has be told you about the Blood Ring and Yoru Clan?" Shun nodded. Sinclair continued speaking.

"Good, good. If he told you that, then I'm sure he also told you about what will happen to you if you try and betray your new family and home as well. So, I shouldn't have to repeat any of those consequences, correct?" Again, Shun nodded, not daring to speak, since he feared that this was not the appropriate time to do so. Sinclair reached for the crystal glass of blood on the desk and took a sip.

Shun tried to keep from showing a look of disgust as a thin line of the blood escaped down the corner of the Vampire's mouth. Sinclair wiped the blood away with a white handkerchief from his coat pocket, then stared down at the red stain it left behind. His purple-gray eyes then looked from the cloth to Shun, and said, "Where are my manners? Would you like a glass? I assure you it's not spiked or anything."

Shun could see in the Vampire's eyes that he was being silently examined. He knew all too well that Sinclair knew about how he had reacted to being forcedly given blood when he couldn't stop it. Shun shook his head and generously declined the offer by saying, "No, thanks, Sir." Sinclair wore an expression of amusement now.

"You know, Shun," he said and looked longingly at the glass of blood in his hand, "It's in a Vampires nature to consume blood. It keeps us alive and strong. Without it, we fall victim to something called Bloodlust. Only a few Vampires in the world are immune to this, such as Loran and his brother, but only because of special bloodlines. You, like the rest of us, are just as susceptible to it, if not more, seeing as you're a recently Turned Vampire."

Shun tensed up, not liking where this conversation seemed to be going. Sinclair's eyes shone with amusement now as he continued to speak. "So, Shun, you will have to drink blood not only to live, but to also stay in control of your own body. If you don't and allow Bloodlust to take over, then I can't promise that you'll be able to stop yourself from attacking innocent people. And trust me, there's enough killing going on in this blasted city as it is."

Shun clenched his hands into fists in his lap. He had been right, he didn't like where that conversation was heading. The truth had him conflicted; he didn't want to drink blood, but he also didn't want to hurt some innocent person, or even somebody he cared for like a friend or his grandfather.

Then, something else the Vampire Lord said raised a red flag. "Enough killing going on in the city as it is? I thought the Blood Ring didn't kill unless they absolutely have to. At least, that's what Loran told me, Sir." he asked. Shun felt nervous. What if what Loran told him had been a lie in order to gain trust and keep from enticing Shun from running away if he knew that the organization was safe for the most part.

Sinclair's amused expression turned dead-serious. "It's not us doing the killing. The only time we kill is when we have a client that is long overdue on their payment, and we only kill to take back all the blood they have consumed. No. It's not us. It's somebody else. An old client, who I can only figure, has been Turned recently. He has gathered up most of the Vampires in the city and has them going out at night and killing any person who is out. Many of the Vampires have a condition known as Blight, and it has already taken one of our own here in the Clan. It's a mess that has exploded into a major problem for us, since the business I run here is illegal in the Vampire Society. If the catch wind of what's going on here in the city, then the Society will take action to try and get it under control. When they do that, then they will trace it back to me and my Clan and punish us as they see fit. So, I've been sending some of my people out into the city to try and take out as many of these rouge Vampires as possible in order to try and gain some control over this before the Society gets involved. Personally, I would have gone into the city and taken care of the problem by now, but I was unable to leave the enclave as long as you fought through the Transition. And I would have had our resident assassin do a few jobs as well, but he was the one who contracted the Blight."

Shun tried his best to absorb all of the information he had just been given. He believed he understood it, for the most part. There was an old, addicted client of Sinclair's that was turned, and now he had rounded up the Vampires in the city in something like an army.

On top of that, there was something that could have been called a disease among some of the Vampires out there. And to add onto that, there was this Vampire Society that would take matters into their own hands to stop this mess before it got any worse.

But if they did that, then Sinclair's Blood Ring and Clan would fall as well. Shun had half a mind to go and allow the Vampire Society to do that, but he might be arrested and punished with the rest of them, even if he was forced into this world of Vampires. So, he crossed that idea out of his mind before it took root.

He then thought about how these rouge Vampires were going around in the city and killing anyone they found, and Shun instantly began to worry about the safety of his grandfather and friends. He knew the old man would have to leave the house eventually and go get food, seeing as Shun was no longer there at the moment to take care of him.

And the old man, as slow as he moved now, would probably be out till dark, completely vulnerable and at risk of being drained of blood. Then there was the matter with his friends. He was sure they knew that something was out in the city killing people, so they probably weren't dumb enough to go out at night. But Shun still couldn't help but worry about them too.

Sinclair raised an eyebrow and asked the teen, "What's troubling you? You've been silent and staring at the desk for the longest." Shun snapped from his thoughts, and quickly replied with, "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir. You told me about the killings going on in the city, and I instantly began to worry about my friends and family."

Sinclair nodded, took a sip of his blood, then said, "Go see them." Shun felt his eyes widen with surprise, and he looked up at the Vampire Lord. "Excuse me?" he said, completely forgetting to be formal. Sinclair stood up and walked back over to the bottle of blood across the room.

"I said go see them. I know how dear family and friends are to humans. It's part of what makes them so interesting. Besides, you've been here for a while, and vanished without a word because Slay knocked you out and brought you here. I'm sure your friends and family probably think you've been killed by now." Shun was surprised to find that Sinclair was so understanding on the matter; surely a Vampire wouldn't care about something so mundane as relationships with other humans.

"When can I go, if you don't mind me asking, Sir?" he asked quickly. Sinclair refilled his glass and said nonchalantly, "Whenever you please. You aren't a prisoner here or anything. You're free to come and go when you please, but always remember that this is now a part of your family, a new home. If you are called upon, then you come. Simple as that. I do ask though that you live here in the enclave now. It's just something I ask of the Clan members so they'll be near if needed and safe from anything that may threaten their well-being. They are my family too, you know."

Shun couldn't help but smile. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that he knew that he had freedom, that he didn't have to stay hidden in the shadows cast by the torches on the cavern walls. "Thank you, Sir," Shun said to the Vampire Lord.

Sinclair returned to his seat and said, "No problem. I wouldn't be a Lord of Vampires if I didn't give my faithful subjects a bit of freedom. I'd be a tyrant if I ruled completely over their lives, and I've seen Vampire tyrants throughout history, and it never ends well. You and Loran are dismissed."

He and the gray-haired Vampire beside him stood up. Loran bowed, and Shun quickly followed suit. Just as the two began to leave out of the study, Sinclair called out to them. "Wait a minute," he said. Loran was already out of the door and in the hall, and Shun was just about to cross the threshold. He turned just in time to see Sinclair grabbing onto a dagger on the desk that was being used as a paper weight.

The Vampire Lord threw the knife with inhuman force, and it went flying towards Shun, end over end. Then, it was like things turned into slow motion. Shun could see the blade heading towards him, and he reacted quickly, grabbing onto the dagger just before it would have embedded itself in between his eyes.

The cold metal bit its way through his palm and drew blood. The raven-haired teen stared in horror and threw the knife onto the ground. Now that the blade was no longer in his palm, the skin on his hand instantly began to heal, and the bleeding stopped.

Shun looked at Sinclair with wide eyes and snapped, "Have you gone mental! That could have killed me!" Sinclair's mouth curled up into a grin and he cast his gaze down to the bloody dagger on the floor. "You're exceptionally fast for a Turned Vampire, especially one who has recently accepted the Transition," he seemed to say more to himself than to Shun.

The Vampire Lord then looked up at the raven-haired teen as if remembering he were there, and said, "Ah, please, do go on. Don't mind me. I'm just thinking about where to place you and what job to give you once you've firmly settled down and made yourself home in the Clan. In fact, I've already got a pretty good idea of what to assign you. But anyway, you can go…..Oh! And Loran, if he plans on going to see his friends and family, make sure he fills up on blood before he goes, despite how much he refuses. We don't want him giving into Bloodlust around people he cares about, now do we?"

Behind Shun, Loran nodded and placed a hand on the raven-haired teen's shoulder. "Let's go," the young Vampire said calmly, as if it was perfectly normal for their leader to try and kill somebody by throwing a dagger at them. Shun glanced into Sinclair's study one last time before following after Loran. As they walked a little further down the hall, the large door to the study slammed closed.

* * *

Oh, boy. State test week at my school. o.e the only thing good that comes out of it is that I get to miss some classes while the other classes test. sorry for not getting the link up on my profile to my story on Good Reads. I'll try later tonight. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	13. Spinning A Web Of Lies

_~O~_

Shun was pouring sweat inside of the hooded-jacket Loran had given him before he left out of the enclave. He wished that he could take the jacket off, but he kept reminding himself that the sun wouldn't make him burst into flames like the typical Hollywood stereotypes, but it would burn him rather quickly, as if he now had acquired the fairest skin-type imaginable.

His stomach was also a bit uneasy too, but not from the insufferable heat that was being amplified by the jacket, but by the fact that he had pretty much been forced to down a small plastic bag of blood before he left.

Shun had been told that, seeing he was he recently Turned Vampire, he was more at risk of succumbing to Bloodlust and would have to drink enough to subdue it; if he didn't, then there was no guarantee that he would be in control of himself when seeing his grandfather and friends.

It was taking everything in Shun's power not to throw up. The coppery taste of the blood was still fresh in his mouth, reminding him constantly of what he had just consumed. But he somehow managed to hold the contents of his stomach down.

Perhaps it was because he realized that drinking blood was now a part of his life, something as natural as drinking water. Although, he still had a difficult time accepting that little fact, and figured that he would be a long time before he did accept it.

Shun tugged at the collar of his hoodie and savored in the little bit of relief it provided. _This heat would surely kill me if I were….._ Shun couldn't even bring himself to finish his thought; it pained him too much to think that he had to refer in past tense to when he was human, a normal person.

Now, he was something else entirely, something that looked like a human, but prowled around in the night and drank the life-giving fluid that coursed through the veins of all living creatures. Shun had stopped walking and sat beneath the awning of a small flower shop.

He wished he could take a bus back to his grandfather's, but the transit didn't go out that far, and hailing a cab wouldn't work either, seeing as he didn't have any money on his person. He leaned against the brick wall, surrounded by potted plants and colorful floral arrangements.

Sweet scents of pollen, nectar, and leaves filled his nose; apparently hearing and sight weren't the only senses that had improved. People walked past him, some not even paying him any mind, while others cast sideways glances down at him, obviously wondering why he was wearing winter attire on such a hot summers day.

Shun sighed and stood up, feeling rested enough to continue on his long walk back home. By the time the sun had taken its position in the highest point in the sky for noon, Shun had made it to the street that he and his grandfather lived on.

As he walked down the sweltering asphalt road, he couldn't help but wonder how his grandfather would react to seeing him; he had been missing for a couple of days, after all. Shun reached the gate to the house, typed in the code to unlock the gate, and stood back as the large doors swung open.

He stood there in the gateway for a moment, staring in at the house before him. Everything looked the same, but Shun knew all too well that it wasn't. Things were different now. He could no longer call this place home, despite that it was where what was left of his family lived.

Or, more like his actually family. According to Sinclair, the Yoru Clan and all of its members were now his new family, and their base was his new home. Shun walked across the front yard of the house, taking in the peaceful silence of the Zen gardens that had been put in years ago.

The sounds of running water, bugs chirping, and birds fluttering about were amplified through his improved hearing. But instead of peace, he found the sounds to be too much. They were too loud, and there were too many for him to handle.

Shun brought his hands up to his ears to help block out the noises of nature, but it didn't do much for him; he could still hear the birds and water. Shun liked it better when he could take the sounds in little at a time, rather than being bombarded by it all at once.

Through is covered ears, Shun heard a door being opened. He looked up and saw his grandfather hobble out onto the front porch. The old man asked gruffly, "Who's out….Shun?" His grandfather stepped off the porch and hurried towards his grandson. "Where have you been?" the old man asked briskly.

_Good to see you too, _Shun thought to himself. "I've been…..," Shun started but couldn't come up with an answer. Telling the truth wouldn't work, even if he wanted to; like his grandfather would have believed him if he told him about all of the craziness that the raven-haired teen had gone through the past week.

He struggled to come up with a lie, but all he got were blank thoughts. His grandfather then shook his head and said, "Never mind that. Go inside and get out of that hoodie. Have you gone crazy? It's 97 degrees out today, and you dressed like it was going to snow or something. I swear, don't you think with that brain of yours?"

Shun couldn't help but smile at the old man's rant; that was how his grandfather expressed concern, after all. The raven-haired teen followed the hobbling man inside of the house they once shared, and Shun graciously welcomed the coolness that resided inside.

The sweat that had built up on his forehead now felt like it was starting freeze by the hands of the air-conditioning system, but it felt good nonetheless. He slipped out of the hoodie, allowing more of the cool air to wash over him and cool him down.

Shun then sat down at the kitchen table and sighed with relief as he finally got to rest his feet since stopping to rest at the flower shop. He felt like every joint and muscle in his body was throbbing either from the walk or from nearly overheating.

His grandfather shuffled to the table and set a glass of water in front of Shun. "Drink. You look like you're about to pass out. Seriously, though, what were you thinking? Walking around dressed like that? Is that some kind of new fashion trend? If it is, then I'd have to say it might be the stupidest thing I've ever seen. I mean, I thought the style now was to wear as few clothes as possible. At least, that's what the young women today make it seem like."

Shun reached for the glass of ice water and downed it in a single swallow. He didn't guzzle the water like that because he was thirsty, which he was, but more to get the taste of blood out of his mouth. He even chewed on an ice cube for good measure.

He then set the empty glass down and said nervously, "I was told it might right today….." It was a stupid lie, and he knew he could have come up with better, but it appeared that the old man bought it, regardless.

His grandfather leaned back in his chair and said, "Well, there's no rain in the forecast for today…Anyway…..Where have you been? You're friends have been calling here worried sick, and I've been having to do tasks that my old body can't do anymore. What do you have to say for yourself? Did you just decide to take a vacation or something?"

Even though the old man's voice sounded persecuting and cold, Shun knew that beneath that grumpy layer, his grandfather was just as worried as his friends were. "I was…I was jumped on the way back from picking up your meds…They got the upper hand on me and I wasn't able to fight back," Shun lied.

He could see the old man wasn't buying this lie as easily as he did the lie about the weather and jacket. Part of the reason was because his grandfather knew better, and knew that Shun was more than capable of holding his own in an altercation.

The raven-haired teen quickly continued his lie before his grandfather had a chance to pry. "They had knocked me out, and when I came to, I was in some house that belonged to a stranger that found me and treated my injuries. I stayed there until I was well enough, and here I am." The old man's gaze scrutinized Shun and examined him closely. Could he see through the lies?

Was Shun's poker face not good enough and that easy to read? But his grandfather's face turned to an expression of calm and he said, "I see. Well, I'm relieved to know that you're alright. There's been a lot of crazy things going on in the city, and your friends were worried that you might have gotten caught up in it. In fact, I was starting to think the same thing."

Shun ran a hand through his hair and wanted to say, _"You have no idea just how involved I am in it now." _But he kept the remark to himself, where it should belong. The old man pushed his chair back, took Shun's empty glass, and walked across the kitchen to put it in the sink.

He then told Shun, "You should probably call up your friends and let them know you're okay." Shun nodded and replied, "I know. In fact, I was planning on going on over there after I spoke with you." He could see the old man tense up a bit.

His grandfather turned around and told him, "I see. Just be careful. You got jumped once, don't want that happening again. A second time would just show me that I didn't train you good enough."

Shun smiled at the old man, taking the little jab as a means of caring, rather than an insult or sarcasm. "I will, Grandfather," the raven-haired teen said and stood up from the table, where he went over to where he set his hoodie and reluctantly pulled the jacket back over his shoulders.

From behind, his grandfather asked him, "What time are you planning on being back after you visit them so I know whether or not to lock the doors?" Shun kept his back towards the old man so he couldn't see the expression that the teen wore when mentioning coming back.

Sinclair had allowed Shun free-leave of the enclave, but he had to live there among the others of the Clan; there would be no coming back. "I…..I don't know…..I might stay the night at Marucho's or something…," he said flatly.

Behind him, the old man said, "Alright, then." Shun could hear the worry in his grandfather's voice. After being gone for a week and suddenly reappearing with a story that he had been assaulted, Shun knew that his grandfather probably didn't want him to get too far out of his failing eyesight.

But Shun couldn't stay with the old man anymore. He had to stay with Sinclair's Clan in the enclave. There was no way around it. "I'll be back," he quickly assured his grandfather and walked out of the house, back into the sweltering heat.

Shun felt like his reunion with the old man wasn't as long as he had wanted it to be. But he had to get to his friends, to let them know he was alive and not in a ditch dead. His meeting with them would probably be a short one as well.

But this was what his new life would consist of; seeing the people dear to him every now and again, only to assure them he was well, and then return to his new family, the one of Vampires.

Shun cleared the gate, closed it behind him, and started back down the asphalt street that radiated heat and lead back into town, where he would soon be reunited with his friends and spin the same lie he had give to his grandfather all over again.

* * *

I have the link to my story on Good Reads posted on my profile now. Please, do go and check it out, leave a like or comment or whatever. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	14. Deceit

_~O~_

Shun stood in front of the massive building that Marucho lived in, and where his friends more than likely resided at the moment. But he knew for a fact that Alice was inside. If she wasn't, then the only thing he could figure was that she packed her things and went back to Russia when the mass killings broke out in the city. He didn't blame her for that.

It was no longer safe in the city at night thanks to the rouge Vampires that Shun had been told about. So, he completely understood her leaving if she did. But he had also found out that a couple days prior, the city had been closed down to all access and entry; nobody got in, and nobody got out. Simple as that.

But Shun couldn't help but think that this little safety precaution the people used to find this 'killer' only doomed more of the clueless citizens that were now trapped inside. They were sitting targets for the creatures that prowled at night, unable to leave and seek safety elsewhere. Shun shook the thoughts away and approached the door to the massive home before him. Much to his surprise, the door was locked.

_They never lock the door during the day, _Shun thought to himself. He then began to look around for a doorbell or anything that might signal he was standing outside. And quite frankly, he hoped that he found it quick, for the heat was starting to turn unbearable beneath his hoodie again.

He was also growing rather tired as well. After a bit of searching, he found a keypad near the door and pressed the Call button. There was a buzz for a moment, and somebody on the other side answered. Shun instantly recognized the voice as Kato's. "Yes?" the butler asked through the little speaker.

Shun leaned closer to the keypad so he could be heard clearly on the other end. "Kato, it's me, Shun. Let me in, please." There was a long moment of silence before Kato replied, "Of course. Be right there." It didn't take two minutes before the locked doors opened, permitting entrance into the mansion.

Shun hurried over to them, and found Kato standing there, holding the door open. Once inside, the butler closed the door behind the raven-haired teen and locked it back tight. "Stepping up security, aren't you?" Shun asked sarcastically and immediately pulled off the insufferable hoodie, which was thoroughly soaked through with sweat.

He was starting to think that going out in daylight would have to be a winter or late fall thing; summer was definitely out of the question now. Shun turned around and looked at Kato. The butler was staring at him, surprise on his face.

"Kato?" Shun asked cautiously. The butler's silence and reaction was starting to make the raven-haired teen worry a bit. He didn't somehow know that Shun had changed, did he? He couldn't possibly see a difference that would raise a red flag, right?

Kato shook his head and said, "Oh, it's nothing, Master Shun. It's just that Master Marucho and his friends have been rather worried and concerned about you since your sudden disappearance." Shun chuckled humorously. "Yeah," he said, "With all of the chaos going on in the city, I don't doubt they've been worried. It's not exactly like I called up and told anyone where I was going. Guess that's my fault."

Kato waved his hand, as if deny Shun's statement. "No, no. It's not your fault, and I doubt that the others will think it is either. Please, do go upstairs and see them. I'm sure they'll be very surprised and relieved to see you again, Master Shun. They're on the usual floor." The raven-haired teen nodded, thanked the butler, and headed towards the elevator that would take him upstairs to see his worrying friends.

_~O~_

Alice hated the silence that had taken hold of the others. Since her little scene several days ago where she had pretty much admitted that Shun was gone, nobody had really said anything. Every now and again, somebody would try and make a lighthearted joke, or try desperately to strike up a conversation, but to no avail.

They all knew that Alice had been right, that Shun wasn't coming back, that nothing was right, nor would it ever be right again. And because of that, the reality had been too much for all of them to handle. "Maybe we can go to the park or somewhere today," Julie suggested.

Marucho shook his head and told her flatly, "No, we can't, Julie. Remember? It's not safe out in the city right now." The silver-haired girl crossed her arms over her chest and said quietly, "The killers have only been working at night, though." Marucho shook his head again.

"We don't know if they'll start working in broad daylight, and my parents don't want us taking any chances. I know that we're all getting tired of being holed up in this place, but it's for our own good." Alice hadn't argued when Mr. and Mrs. Marakura had ordered them to stay within the safety of their mansion until the killers were caught, but even she was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic.

Suddenly, the speaker in the room blared to life with Kato's voice. "Master Marucho, there's a guest for you and your friends coming up. He should be there shortly." The intercom then went dead, leaving the room in slight confusion.

They hadn't been expecting any guests, so who could it have been? A knock sounded from the door, and Marucho called out to whoever was on the other side to come on in. When the door opened, it was like time froze. Shun. There was Shun, and he was alive.

He smiled sadly and said, "Hey, guys. Sorry for not-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence before he was surrounded by the others. Alice continued to sit though, for she was still unable to register that this was real, that she wasn't dreaming. Marucho, Julie, and Dan had the raven-haired teen surrounded, and had just begun to break their hugs.

"We were worried something might have happened to you when we called up your grandfather and found that you hadn't returned home one night," said Marucho with a detectable hint of relief in his voice. Shun walked into the room and set a black hoodie down on the back of a chair. "Sorry to make you and Grandfather worry. I ran into a bit of trouble several nights ago, but everything is fine now," Shun said.

Dan's eyes had fallen on the black hoodie that his friend had just set down, and asked, "What's up with the jacket? It's like, almost a hundred freaking degrees out there. Is it some kind of new ninja training the old man's got you on? If so, then that's a bit overkill, even for him."

Shun chuckled and shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Dan didn't seem to want to leave it at that though, but he did and didn't pry the topic again. The brunette then grabbed his friend's wrist and said, "Sit. Tell us what the hell happened to you. Where'd you vanish to?"

Shun sat down in the chair he had draped his jacket over. All eyes were now on him as everyone waited to hear his story. "Like I told my grandfather when I went and saw him earlier, I was coming back from getting his medicine and got jumped by several guys. They got the better of me and knocked me out. When I came to, I woke up in some stranger's house that had found me and gotten me off the streets. I've been there while I recovered," he explained.

Alice narrowed her eyes at the raven-haired teen. She didn't believe him. The others might, but she didn't. Unlike them, she knew when Shun was lying, and for the most part, he wasn't the best liar. Whenever he wasn't being truthful, he wouldn't look people in the eye.

And since he began his story, his eyes had either been locked on the floor or the coffee table in front of him; never once did he look up at the faces of his friends. Dan crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Well, that would explain why you don't look so good."

Shun glanced up at his friend, obviously surprised that the brunette had said that. Alice had to agree with Dan; Shun didn't look to exactly be in the best of shape. It almost looked like he might have lost a bit of weight, and his skin was a bit paler than usual. Not to mention the dark circles that were trying to form underneath his eyes.

Shun ran a hand through his jet-black hair and said calmly, "Yeah. Those thugs did quite a number on me. Grandfather wasn't too happy to find out that I got beaten down so easily. He might end up increasing my training regiment now."

Shun chuckled, as if to lighten the mood, but Alice could easily tell that there was no humor in his mild laughter. Something was wrong, and she wanted to know what it was. "You might want to stay the night here. It's starting to get dark outside, and I know how far away your grandfather's house is. And I know you probably know about the killings going on at night. It's not safe out there."

Shun shook his head to decline the offer, which surprised not only Marucho, but everyone else. "No, I'm sorry, but I can't. The guy that helped me….I promised him I'd repay him for helping me. I have to run by his place and take care of that…..I'll probably just stay at his place until tomorrow or stay in a nearby hotel….."

His voice trailed off at the end, as if he had more to say, but couldn't think of it. Alice narrowed her eyes at him again, and shook her head. Shun was lying through his teeth, and she was surprised that the others were too blind to see that their friend wasn't telling them the truth, that something was very, very wrong.

The raven-haired teen stood up and grabbed his hoodie from the back of the chair he had been sitting in. "I guess I'd better get going. I just wanted to drop by and let you guys know that I was alright. My grandfather told me how worried you all had been the past couple of days," he said and draped his hoodie over his arm.

Marucho was biting down on his lower lip, then finally said, "Alright. Get Kato to unlock the doors before you leave so you can get out. And be careful out there." Alice couldn't believe that they were letting him go. They should have made him stay, regardless of what he said.

It wasn't safe out there, and she knew that his story had been a lie. Shun turned and left out of the room, and Alice had half a mind to follow after him and demand the truth, but somehow she knew that he wouldn't tell her. Not now, at least. But he would be unable to keep his lie forever, and when he was ready to tell them what really happened, Alice was going to make sure she was there to hear it herself.

_~O~_

Shun had Kato unlock the door like Marucho had told him to, and was walking out into the streets again. The sun was starting to fall behind the city's skyline, taking away the light that would hurt him now. Because of this, Shun didn't put on the infernal jacket again.

There was no need for it now, and he wasn't about to burn up in it again for the hell of it. As he walked along the sidewalk, Shun brought his hand up to the side of his head. Before he had left Marucho's, he had started to develop a bit of a headache.

He thought it might have been from a combination of the heat and the hoodie, but instead of getting better now that the temperature was dropping, it was only getting worse. He stopped walking and sat on a bus stop bench for a moment, thinking that sitting would help with the pain.

It didn't do a thing for him. The pain spread from his head to the rest of his body, leaving dulls aches in its path. _What now? _Shun thought to himself. _I thought I was done with all of this pain when I survived that damn Transition or whatever. _He clenched his teeth together with the pain that now radiated from him. His ears pounded with the sound of his own blood pulsating through his veins.

Shun then shook his head in an attempt to gain some focus. It was obvious that something wasn't right with him at the moment. What if Sinclair's blood was somehow turning against Shun and was trying to kill him? He had to get back to the enclave before things got worse.

Shun forced himself up to his feet, surprised to find they were as weak as when he was fighting through the Transition. They nearly buckled beneath his weight, and the only reason he didn't fall was because he caught himself on the back of the bench he had been sitting on.

Shun found his balance and forced his weakening body to walk back towards the secret enclave. But something stepped out of the shadows ahead of him. Shun's vision was trying to blur at the edges, so he wasn't really able to make out any details of the mystery person before him, despite them being no more than fifteen feet away.

The figure then stepped out of the shadows and into the light of a streetlamp that had turned on with the falling sun. It was a man with long, waist-length blond hair and wire-framed glasses. The man's face turned up into a scowl, and his eyes blazed with fury.

"You reek of Sinclair," the man snarled. Suddenly, the shadows around him started to move, and highly-emaciated figures appeared around the blond-haired man. The creatures' eyes glowed red and were filled with rage and what appeared to be hunger.

Shun stumbled back, nearly falling backwards. The blond-haired man pointed at Shun and said briskly, "Kill him. He's one of Sinclair's dogs." Moving like a wave of black, the creatures followed orders and charged.

* * *

i think that this chapter turned out pretty good. in other news, i finished my state test yesterday and my dad allowed me to stay home today since the freshmen are taking their state test today, so we wouldn't have done anything in class anyway. so, i consider myself lucky. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	15. The Drug

_~O~_

The creatures pounced on Shun and pinned him to the ground at his wrists, legs, and chest. He couldn't move. He struggled beneath their weight and strength, but all his futile attempts did was cause his attackers to sneer. Now that the creatures were closer and out of the shadows, Shun could see a bit more clearly what they looked like.

He knew they had to be Vampires; they were nowhere near human. Their faces were sunken in, and their bones showed beneath their skin, making them look like skeletons with plastic wrapped around them. Even though they were Vampires, they looked nothing like the Vampires Shun had come to know.

These looked more like how he would have thought Vampires really looked like before he became involved with Sinclair and his Clan. The twisted Vampires started snapping their teeth at Shun's neck, trying desperately to sink their fangs into his flesh.

But as one would try and bite him, another would try at the same time, causing them to run into one another; these Vampires certainly weren't all that smart. Shun whimpered beneath them from a combination of fear, pain that was radiating throughout his body, and the concrete biting in his back under him.

He was unable to fight in this state. So, even if he did somehow break free, he wouldn't have it in him to fight; he hardly had had it in him to stand. One of the Vampires on top of him came dangerously close to biting him. Shun could feel the creature's fangs graze the skin on his neck.

The Vampire narrowed its eyes at him and reared back. For some reason, Shun knew that this time they wouldn't miss, that they had worked it out and were about to rip into his throat. Shun shut his eyes tightly and braced himself for what was to come.

"Wait!" a voice shouted. When Shun didn't feel his neck being torn to shreds, he cautiously opened his eyes and saw that the Vampire that was about to bite him, had stopped short mere inches from his neck, fangs bared and everything.

Shun thought his heart might stop right then and there. Beyond the Vampires that were pinning him down, Shun saw that the man who had ordered the attack had his hand raised. That man had stopped his minions from attacking. Shun wasn't sure if he should have been relieved or even more afraid.

The man strode up to where the raven-haired teen was pinned down, and loomed over him and his minion Vampires. The man narrowed his eyes and said, "Sorry for such rash actions. I didn't think through what I was doing at first. All I knew was that you smelled of that coward and I reacted."

The man began to pace in a circle around Shun. The Vampires didn't try and bit the raven-haired teen anymore, but they held him firmly in place, allowing him no movement. "I realized something when my cohorts here were attacking you. You smell of Sinclair because he is your Donor. I've never heard of Sinclair Donating to a human before, so you must be his first. Correct?"

Shun shook his head. He didn't know if Sinclair had Turned humans before him or not; all he knew was that he had been Turned into a Vampire, and that was it. The man scoffed and said, "Regardless, Sinclair must have taken a bit of an interest in you if he gave up some of his own precious blood."

Shun could hear the hatred dripping from this man's words. It was crystal clear that whoever this guy was, he wasn't very fond of Sinclair. The man knelt down beside Shun and sniffed the air. His lips then turned up in a malicious grin. "It appears that you're undergoing the first onset symptoms of Bloodlust. That must have been why you were unable to run when you saw me," he said and chuckled.

Shun then registered what the man just said. He had been falling into Bloodlust? That was what the headache and pain had been caused by? Shun couldn't help but think how fortunate he was that he got out of Marucho's when he did.

If he had stayed a moment later, and if they had realized he wasn't well they would have made him stay, then he would have been there and possibly hurt his friends. Shun shook his head, not wanting to think of what he could have done to them and had no control over it.

The sheer thought made his stomach flip in disgust. The man was still knelt beside Shun, the same grin on his face. Except now, that grin had turned up even further into a crooked smile. He looked up at the Vampires that pinned Shun down and the ones who were still stalking around in the shadows.

"I have an idea. Why don't we test out our little creation and see how well it works? Huh? What do you all say?" There was an uproar from the surrounding Vampires as they agreed with whatever the man was plotting. Shun tensed up. He didn't like where this was going.

What 'little creation' could this psychopath be talking about? Whatever it was, Shun really didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. But it wasn't like he could do anything to fight back. He was weakened from Bloodlust, and pinned down as well. He was helpless.

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small syringe, much like the ones diabetics used for their insulin injections. Floating around in the plastic cylinder, was a thick, crimson liquid; blood. "This right here, it what I will overthrow Sinclair with. This will be the demise of his Blood Ring, and eventually his very life. And then when he is gone and out of the way, my Blood Ring will run the city, maybe even the whole world someday. I will be more powerful than any other Vampire because I will control everyone and everything."

The man plucked the orange cap off of the syringe and looked longingly at it for a moment, then turned his gaze onto Shun. The raven-haired teen struggled beneath the weight the Vampires that pinned him down, but they didn't even budge.

"Hey, don't worry. This will help with your Bloodlust somewhat as well. I mean, it is blood, after all," the man said nonchalantly as he drove the hair-thin needle into the vein in Shun's arm. There was a small pinch as the needle went in, then the feeling of the syringe's contents being injected in.

He could hear the man laughing madly above him, but slowly, that faded away and turned into nothing more than a muffled, identifiable sound. The world was then covered with a thick fog, making even the most basic of shapes and items around him impossible to make out.

Shun's body felt as though it had gone numb. He forced his gaze to look up, and he just barely made out the shapes of the Vampires that had been holding him down. They were no longer keeping him down, but now, Shun couldn't even will his own body to obey him. He could only just lay there, even more helpless than before.

_~O~_

Alexander laughed as he watched the fight drain from the raven-haired boy's eyes, only to be replaced with a distant, glassy look as the blood mixture took hold and sent the boy into coma-like high. It was more potent than Alexander had thought it to be, but that was better.

The more potent, the more people and Vampires alike that would want it, which gave him more money, and more power. "I think this will work nicely," he said as he looked at the empty syringe in his hand. Beside him, Sykes looked down at the boy and asked, "So, what do we do about him now?"

Alexander waved a nonchalant hand and said, "I really don't care at this point. Kill him if you like. I've seen why our blood mixture can do, and I'm pleased with it. He's outlived his purpose now. Or we could sit here and watch him writhe in the grip of our creation. Yeah, let's do that. I've been in the need of good entertainment."

Alexander and his underlings stood there, doing just that. They watched the boy try to get up and away from whatever hallucinations were plaguing his mind. It was quite amusing to see somebody with Sinclair's powerful blood within them trembling like a scared or injured animal.

Alexander threw his head back and laughed. "This is going to be even easier than I thought!" he exclaimed. He held up the empty syringe and looked at it through the moonlight, gazing at it like some kind of god-given gift, when a bullet shot back, clipping Alexander's hand and causing him to drop the syringe.

He cried out and clutched his hand where the bullet clipped him. Blood seeped out of a small, stinging wound. He quickly licked the wound to speed up its healing process. A man with jet-black hair dropped down from a nearby roof and landed in front of Alexander and his underlings, a flintlock pistol pointed right at him. Alexander grinned and said, "Alucard, it's been a while since I last saw you. I think it was a few months back when I bought some of Sinclair's product from you."

Alucard narrowed his brilliant violet eyes at Alexander. "Shut your mouth, Alexander. I guess I should consider myself lucky. Sinclair sent me and several others out tonight to hunt for Blighted Vampires and put an end to their miserable lives. I'm sure he'll be pleased to know that you were also killed tonight too."

Alexander scoffed and said, "Good luck with that. You're outnumbered, my friend. Kill him." The Vampires charged at Alucard, claws and fangs bared. The second-in-command to Sinclair loaded a round into the flintlock pistol and fired, sending a bullet straight through four of the underlings.

Alexander took a step back in surprise. Alucard shot down several more, turning Alexander's numbers from in the thirties, to less than ten in a matter of minutes. "What were you saying about me needing luck, Alexander?" Alucard asked and pointed the barrel of the flintlock at the blond-haired Vampire.

Alexander held his hands up, showing he had nothing to defend himself. "Guess I underestimated your shooting abilities, Alucard. I'm impressed. Tell me, what's somebody as skilled as you doing with somebody as low as Sinclair?"

Alexander knew that he couldn't fight his way out of this tight spot. So, he would talk his way out instead. Alucard narrowed his violet eyes and said, "I know where my loyalties lie, and you will not sway them, Alexander. Now, it's lights out for you." Alucard pulled the firing pin back and locks the sites in on Alexander's chest.

Just as he was about to shoot, one of Alexander's underlings blindsided Alucard, causing his shot to miss, and give the blond-haired Vampire a chance to escape. He quickly scaled up the side of a building and onto its roof. "Maybe we can finish this another time, on fairer terms. But for the time-being, I must go. There's much work I need to get done."

Alexander and his underlings fled into the night, just barely escaping with all of their numbers. Alucard growled in aggravation. He had almost had Alexander, and if that underling of his hadn't interfered, then that twisted psycho would have been no more.

Alucard tucked his flintlock into its holster and was about to regroup with the party he had been given to hunt Blighted Vampires that night, when he heard moans coming from nearby. He turned and saw the raven-haired teen that Sinclair had turned laying on the ground.

"Shun!" Alucard said and ran over to the teen's side. He inspected over the recently-Turned Vampire and was shocked at his condition. The teen was writhing on the ground from either pain or hallucinations. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and at some point, it appeared that he had thrown up.

Alucard stopped the teen from moving around by holding on tightly to the side's of his arms, and the second-in-command could feel Shun's pulse racing through his veins. "God, what did that creep do?" Alucard asked more to himself than to the incapacitated teen.

The second-in-command's eyes then feel onto an empty syringe laying nearby. He reached for it and held it up in the moonlight. The inside was lined with drying blood. Alucard shook his head and said, "Sinclair's not going to like this." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

Alucard dialed up one of the member's of his hunting party he had veered off from to fight Alexander, and got an answer. "Hey, head back to the enclave. Now. There's a bit of trouble that we need to inform Sinclair of," he said into the phone and hung up before the Vampire on the other end could respond.

Alucard looked back down at Shun. He knew it wouldn't be easy to carry the raven-haired teen back to the enclave with him writhing around like this, but it wasn't like he had Slay's ability to knock people out and control their minds. So, he would have to do what he could. Alucard easily picked him up and started back towards the enclave.

_~O~_

Sinclair stared at the empty syringe for the longest time before he finally spoke. "This can't even be considered a drug," he said under his breath, "This is a damn biological weapon." He threw the empty syringe on his desk and ran a hand through his hair.

Alucard was leaning against the wall beside the Vampire Lord and asked, "Can you tell what all is in it just from the dried blood remnants on the inside?" Sinclair rubbed his temples to easy the developing headache he was getting, then turned to face Alucard.

"Yeah. I can smell what's inside. It's not only a human and Vampire mix, but it also has our own mixture in it, the mix that Alexander stole from us several nights ago. And I'm not entirely sure, but I think I caught scent of another drug, more than likely some kind of street drug like meth or something of that caliber. It's definitely more potent than anything we've got, or have ever had for that matter."

Alucard nodded and closed his eyes. "I could tell that it was strong when I found Shun and saw his condition. How's he doing anyway?" asked Alucard. Sinclair leaned back in his chair. He recalled how shocked he had been when Alucard brought the raven-haired teen back to the enclave.

It wasn't something he had been expecting, honestly. Sinclair took a sip of the chalice of blood on his desk and said, "I've got Loran administering fresh blood to Shun to try and purify his blood, while also purging the drug from his body. That was several hours ago. I would say he should be fine now, but I'm not so sure, seeing as Alexander's mixture is at least five times more powerful than ours. You know what, I'll just go check."

Sinclair stood up and left from his study and made his way towards Shun's room. When he got there, he found Loran still hovering over the recently-Turned Vampire, intravenous lines in the teen's arm and bags of blood hanging on a hook above the bed.

It was a technique that Sinclair himself had developed, in case any of his Clan members found themselves hook on his drug. They hadn't had to use it for at least over ten years; nobody in the Clan had a desire to get hooked and ruin their lives, since they all saw first hand how quickly things fell apart for the user.

"Any progress?" Sinclair asked. Loran left the bedside and said, "There's some. I at least don't think he's hallucinating anymore, but I'm not entirely sure. It's not like we've combated this strength of mixture before, so there's nothing in the books on how long this might take."

Sinclair nodded, then walked over to Shun's bedside where Loran had been working. The raven-haired teen still looked about as bad as he had when Alucard brought him back to the enclave. His pupils were still dilated, and his eyes were tinted red around the edges.

"Will you be able to purge all of the mixture from his blood?" Sinclair asked without turning to look at Loran. The gray-haired Vampire joined the Vampire Lord's side and told him, "Honestly, I don't know. I might be able to fully clean his bloodstream from it, but there's still a chance that there might be some leftover. If there is, it shouldn't affect him in any way, and it will probably disappear on its own." Sinclair nodded and said, "Very well. Keep up the work, Loran."

The Vampire Lord then turned on his heels and strode out of the room. As he walked back to his study, Sinclair thought to himself, _So, Alexander, this is what you've come up with? This is what you're challenging me with? Very well, then. If you want a fight, then you've got a war._

* * *

_chapter title based off the song The Drug by Egypt Central._ nothing new to announce, so read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	16. Reasons

_~O~_

Shun forced his heavy-feeling eyes open and found himself back in his room at the enclave. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw a intravenous line going into his arm, and a half-empty bag of blood hanging on a hook above him. _What…..What happened? _

His mind felt foggy, and he had trouble as he tried to recall what happened after he left Marucho's. He remembered running into a blond-haired man that had a small army of Vampires with him, and that they attacked Shun and tried to kill him.

But what happened after that was a blur; the most he could remember was that the man that had ordered the attack had also injected something into Shun. All the raven-haired teen could figure was that whatever was injected into him, was why he felt so out of it now. The door to his room opened, and Shun watched as Loran entered. The gray-haired Vampire seemed surprised.

"You're awake. That's good. How are you feeling?" he asked and set down a small cardboard box down filled with several more bags of blood beside Shun's bed. "My head hurts. That's about it," Shun answered hoarsely. Loran nodded and checked the bag of blood that hung over Shun's bed.

"I think I'll just let this stay here and finish emptying out before I remove it and the IV line," he said to himself then glanced down at Shun and told him, "We've gone through at least ten bags trying to get that stuff out of your system." Shun raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Stuff out of my system?" he asked. Loran sat down in a chair nearby and said, "You don't remember all of what happened to you last night?" Shun shook his head. He remembered bits and pieces, but not all of the details. Now, he just hoped that Loran could fill in some of then gaps.

Then again, he wasn't entirely sure if he really did want to know all of last night's events. "Alucard brought you in late last night and explained to us everything that happened. He said you had had an encounter with Alexander. He injected you with a blood mixture like our Blood Ring sells, except it's more potent than anything we've ever produced. That was where I came in and started trying to clean that mixture out of your blood…..I'll tell you, it wasn't an easy task getting that line in your arm. You kept flailing around while in the grips of some apparently serious hallucinations. I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to call in some help to hold you down, but that's besides the point. What's important now is that that mixture seems to be out of your bloodstream and that you're coherent."

Shun pushed himself up into a sitting position, using his elbows to prop himself up. "So….That guy with the blond hair, Alexander…..He drugged me?" Shun asked, making sure he understood what the young Vampire had just told him. Loran nodded.

"Yeah. With some seriously strong stuff. According to what Alucard told us after his scuffle with Alexander, the man that drugged you is planning on sending that same mixture into the city and selling it to our human and Vampire clients, and maybe even further expanding its use. If it gets out there and takes root like our mixture has, and it will, then all hell with break out. Sinclair doesn't even call Alexander's mixture a drug. He calls it a biological weapon," Loran said grimly.

His face then turned up in a smile and he said, "But Sinclair's going to come up with a plan to make sure that this doesn't happen. Although, I'm worried that it might result in a war between our Blood Ring, and Alexander's." His smile faded when he made mention of the war.

Shun's arms had begun to tire out, and he laid on his back to give them a rest. He stared up at the cavern-like ceiling that dominating all of the enclave and couldn't help but think about what would happen to the city if Alexander's drug got out there.

Chaos would most certainly ensue, and the killings would only get worse. The city would be stomped into the ground and turned to ruins. It was one thing with Sinclair's Blood Ring. Their mixture apparently wasn't as strong as Alexander's, and it still ruined people's lives like any other drug, but it didn't have a very strong hold on the inhabitants of the city.

Somehow, seeing as Alexander had forcedly injected his blood mixture into Shun, the raven-haired teen figured that the creep would also do the same to people in the city, forcing them to take something they didn't want. What if Alexander got a hold of one of his friends, or his grandfather?

Shun didn't want them to be involved in this world of Vampire drug lords and ensuing war. Loran's gray eyes shifted up to the bag of blood that had been hooked up and said, "Ah, looks like this one's empty now. I can take that line out of your arm now." Shun nodded and let the gray-haired Vampire do what he had to.

Loran slowly pulled the intravenous line out, and Shun grimaced as he felt the needle sliding out from under his skin. When it was out, he rubbed the spot where it had been, as if to rub away the strange feeling of something moving beneath his skin.

Loran threw the empty bag of blood and used IV line away in a trash can. "Don't worry, all of our trash goes to a biohazard facility and is burned, rather than recycled. You don't have to worry about one of the bags of blood being turned into a bottle or something," Loran told him, as if the final resting place of the Clan's trash was a concern to the raven-haired teen.

It was somehow reassuring to know, though, even if it wasn't a thought that had crossed his mind. Shun looked up at Loran and suddenly asked, "Why do you do so much for the Vampires here without being asked? Surely you can't be so charitable for the sake of it."

Shun recalled how Loran had suggested Turning him, instead of needlessly killing. But that didn't explain why the young Vampire sat here and made sure that Shun's blood was cleaned, and that everything was alright.

Loran picked up the box of bags of blood he had brought in with him and said with a smile, "You kind of sound like Alucard now with those kinds of questions. He doesn't understand it either. I do these kinds of things not only because I don't want to see undeserving people and Vampires suffer, but it also has to do a lot with my brother, Zoran. You see, he has always hated what he is."

He paused for a moment and continued, "He always said that he and every other Vampire were nothing but monsters. So, when we left home to get away from our father after a bit of a…..Fight…I made it a goal of mine to show that not all Vampires were monsters like he thought, that perhaps if I started doing good, then it would encourage others too. It might sound like a stupid idea, but I feel if I keep trying, I might make a difference and help create a world that Zoran can look at without thinking he, or anyone else, is a monster…..That's what Alucard can't understand. I've told him time and time again that's why I do these things, and he always tells me the same thing. That it's impossible to make that kind of difference, that our Society will never change. That we will always be the same and that nothing can be done about it. That our world isn't always fair."

Loran smiled sadly and added, "But I'm not going to give up. I want to try with all my might to make a world that my brother won't be afraid of anymore, a world that he won't hate. And helping like this is how I intend to make that change." Shun nodded and suddenly had a deeper respect for the gray-haired Vampire.

Loran had taken on the weight of an entire world and was determined to change it all himself, just for the sake of his brother. "Your brother, Zoran?" Shun asked, "Is he the one I saw one time with the missing eyes? The one who keeps his mouth covered?" Loran nodded and chuckled. "Yeah. I heard something about you running into him that day when you tried to make a break for it. Honestly, I'm surprised you saw him…..Zoran…Zoran doesn't leave his room very often….He mainly keeps himself locked up."

Shun could hear the hurt in Loran's voice as he spoke about his brother. The raven-haired teen sat up a bit and asked, "Do you mind telling me exactly what happened to him? You mentioned something about leaving after a fight with your father?"

Loran tensed up a bit and stared down into the box of blood bags he was still holding in his hands. "Father…..Father wasn't exactly the best parent, I suppose. He was rather abusive to Zoran. He never harmed a hair on me, thought. I was his favorite, even though I didn't want to be. But he hurt Zoran all the time, all because my brother hated being a Vampire. He would always call himself a monster and lock himself up in his room." Loran's voice began to waver a bit, but he continued on speaking.

"One day, Father got tired of it and told Zoran that if he felt like a monster, then he'd make him one. That was when Father gouged out Zoran's eye right in front of me…..After that, I was fed up with it. I told Zoran to pack his things and we ran from our home. I'm sure that if I hadn't forced Zoran to go, he would have stayed with Father, despite all of the things that had happened to him…But shortly after that, we ran into Sinclair and he took us in, offered us a place to sleep and everything, as long as we promised to provide him whatever help and service we could."

Shun saw that Loran was holding on tightly to the sides of the box, his knuckles turning white. "I'm sorry," Shun told the young Vampire. And he really was sorry. The story he had just been told had been a real tragedy, and Shun wouldn't have thought that Loran had witnessed all of those horrible things happening to his brother by the way the young Vampire carried himself and acted.

Loran sighed heavily and told Shun, "It's quite alright. Those things are in the past, and Zoran and I don't intend to return to them anytime soon." He started to walk out of the room to return the contents of the box in his hands to wherever they belonged, but stopped right before he cleared the door.

Loran glanced over his shoulder and told Shun, "Oh, yeah, Sinclair instructed me earlier to bring you some clean clothes. They're in your bathroom on the counter. You can clean up and change into them when you feel like it." Shun followed Loran's gaze over to a door that he hadn't noticed before.

"You guys have running water in this place?" Shun asked, oddly surprised to know that they somehow had rigged indoor plumbing into the expansive cave. Loran smiled and said, "Of course we have running water. We have electricity too, it's just we don't use it that often. We're Vampires, not Neanderthals."

Loran left out of the room after that. Shun looked down at the clothes he was in. They were tattered and filthy from his encounter with Alexander, and the idea of a clean change of clothes sounded good to him. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, and cautiously placed weight on his feet, remembering how weak his legs had been prior to Alexander's attack.

They trembled a bit beneath his weight, but Shun was sure that they wouldn't buckle. He made his way across the room, keeping close to things he could use to catch himself, just in case he did somehow lose his balance, and entered the bathroom.

He was surprised to see that it didn't exactly fit with the décor of the rest of the enclave. It had the same cave-like walls, but there was a large mirror and marble floors and countertops that matched the natural earth tones of the cavernous walls.

Shun's eyes fell on the change of clothes that were resting next to the sink, just as Loran had said. He then glanced down at his arms and saw they were just as dirty as his clothes from where he had been pinned down on the ground by sickly Vampires, and probably from where he had been flailing while in the grips of Alexander's drug.

He didn't feel like stepping into a shower at the moment, so he opted just to wash off a bit by using the sink and a washcloth. Shun splashed a handful of cool water onto his face, which immediately chased away the remainder of his mind's fog. He then looked up in the mirror at himself for the first time since stepping into the bathroom.

His eyes had dark, deep circles around them, and he could see that his pupils were still a bit dilated. His skin was also paler than it should have been. "This has got to be the because of what Alexander injected into me," he said grimly to himself and went back to washing his face, trying his best to ignore his sickly appearance.

When he was done cleaning up, he slipped into the clean change of clothes, which was nothing but a black shirt and a pair of jeans. The clothes fit him, but not perfectly; the jeans were a bit loose around the waist, so he would have to locate a belt later.

Shun stepped out of his bathroom and back into his room just in time to hear a knock on his room's door. "Yes?" he asked as he set down his dirty clothes on a dresser. The door creaked open and Alucard peered in; Shun reminded himself to thank Alucard later for helping him.

"Sinclair would like to speak with you, considering if you are feeling well enough to leave the room." Shun nodded and said, "I feel fine enough to speak with him." The raven-haired teen wondered what the Vampire Lord would want to talk to him about.

_He probably want's to speak with me about what happened with Alexander, _Shun thought to himself. Alucard nodded and said, "Very well. Follow me, then." Shun followed after the second-in-command and eventually came to Sinclair's study. The two stepped inside and found the Vampire Lord sitting at his desk, reading a paper in his hands. He glanced over the parchment and said, "Ah, I see that you apparently feel better, or else you wouldn't be here, right? Good. Alucard and I were worried that you'd still be too out of it to leave your room."

He set the paper down on his desk and pushed it aside; whatever was on the paper, it mustn't have been urgent. Shun took a seat in the chair across from Sinclair, and Alucard took his usual spot behind the desk and beside Sinclair.

The Vampire Lord leaned back in his chair and said, "I was going to ask you this when you returned from visiting your friends and family, but there was that bit of trouble you ran into that prevented me from asking. Anyway, onto the point." He waved his hand nonchalantly and leaned forward in his chair, looming halfway over his desk.

"I have put your placement in the Blood Ring and Clan into much consideration after you left the enclave, and I also discussed this with Alucard." Behind the Vampire Lord, Alucard's face lit up with surprise. "Sir, you didn't-" He started but Sinclair cut him off. "Hush. It sounds more professional if I say I discussed this with somebody else, so let me handle this," Sinclair said calmly.

Shun just sat there, silent and trying his best to ignore the Vampire Lord's little comment about trying to sound professional.

Sinclair turned back to Shun and said, "Anyway, as you have experienced first-hand, the Blood Ring has run into a bit of a problem with Alexander. He's challenging us and trying to overthrow me and take the city as his own. Now, you know that my methods and reasons for running the Blood Ring are much different than his. He is doing this in an attempt for revenge against me, seeing as he was apparently Turned while waiting to buy some of our blood mixture. But I'm getting off topic."

He waved a nonchalant hand, as if to wave away the distraction he had caused for himself. "What I mean to say is that there's going to be a major fight coming, and I've already mentioned before that we lost our resident assassin, Slay, to Blight. We need somebody fill his position, and seeing as how fast your reflexes are for a recently-Turned Vampire, I can only consider that they will improve as your body further adapts to being Turned. So, what do you say, Shun? The Yoru Clan and Blood Ring really needs somebody to fill Slay's place as we prepare to go up against Alexander and his Clan, if we can even call it that."

Shun thought over Sinclair's business proposal for a moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to become a killer, even if it was a killer of Vampires. But Shun remembered when he first met Slay; the assassin had killed a human client that had been way behind on payments.

Shun didn't want to take up that portion of the job. He didn't want to kill a person. But Shun started to look at the other side of this offer. He would have a chance to get back at Alexander for drugging him against his will. That, and Shun would also be able to help stop Alexander from taking over the city with his drug, and by doing that, the raven-haired teen would also ensure that his friends and family would be safe and out of harm's way.

There were more pros than cons to this offer; the pros being that he could keep the people he cared about safe, and the con being having to kill an addicted human every now and again. Shun was sure he would eventually get past the moral issue of the killing, and it would become second nature.

"I'll accept your offer for me to take Slay's spot, Sir, as long as Alexander is stopped before he does any real damage to the city and the people inside." Sinclair smiled and said, "I assure you, Alexander will be stopped. You don't have to worry about that."

Shun nodded and said, "Very well, then." Sinclair leaned back in his chair and sighed contently. "Good. You're dismissed, then. And thank you for stepping up to the plate. Your help will be a major contribution to our fight against Alexander." Shun stood up from his chair, and did a quick bow to the Vampire Lord before leaving out of the study.

* * *

I went and saw The Great Gatsby last night. It was pretty good, although I don't recommend seeing it in 3D. It just doesn't look right like that. Oh well. It was still good. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	17. Confrontation

_~O~_

Alice and the others were sitting around in the dining room of Marucho's as they finished up their lunch. It seemed that the tension in the air had loosened up a bit upon seeing Shun the other night, but not by much for Alice. Yes, she was relieved that Shun was alive, but she didn't believe that everything was alright like he had made it out to be. She knew something was wrong with him, something that he wasn't telling them.

_He may have the others fooled, but not me, _Alice thought to herself. She was determined to get to the bottom of what the raven-haired teen was hiding, and intended to do it as soon as possible. Perhaps even the next time she saw him she'd confront him on his secrets and demand that he tell her the truth.

Whatever he was hiding bothered Alice. She wanted to know what was wrong so she could help him through it, maybe even help fix the problem. But how was she supposed to do that if he wouldn't seek out the help he so obviously needed? "Alice?"

She turned and looked into the worried eyes of Runo. "Huh?" Alice asked. Runo turned to face the orange-haired girl and said, "You've stared more at your food than eaten it. Is everything alright?" Alice quickly put on a smile and waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Yes, everything is fine, Runo. Just a lot on my mind," she replied and even ate a bite of her food to get the bluenette to stop prying. Runo cast her a wayward glance and said, "Okay….If you say so." The phone on the wall then began to ring.

Kato, who had been standing towards the back of the room waiting for them to finish, went and picked the receiver up and answered. "Hello?" he said into the phone. He remained silent for a moment, then glanced over at our table. He covered the bottom of the phone with his hand and said, "Master Marucho, I believe this call is more suited for you. It concerns Master Shun."

They all exchanged looks at the table as Marucho got up and took the phone from Kato, thanking him in the process. Kato bowed and went back to where he had previously been standing. "Hello?" Marucho said into the phone.

He was silent for a moment, and then looked at his confused friends and mouthed to them, _It's Shun's grandfather. _He then turned back to the phone and said, "Hold on for a second, please, while I put the phone on speaker so I can hear better." Marucho clicked a button on the phone's keypad, allowing everyone in the room to get in on the conversation.

"Okay, I'm back," the short blond said as he set the phone on the table, "As you were saying?" Shun's grandfather cleared his throat and said, "Yes, I was just calling to see if I could ask my Grandson something." There was a long silence after the old man said those words.

Looks were exchanged to each other with that being said, and it seemed that everyone was at a loss of words until Marucho responded to the request. "Um, Shun isn't here, sir," he told the old man through the phone. Again, another long pause, but nowhere near as long as the one before.

"Not there? What do you mean not there? He told me he was going to stay the night at the Marakura's. Has he already left? Is that what you meant?" Marucho shook his head, as if the old man could somehow see through the phone. "No, sir. He never stayed the night.

He dropped by and visited for a while, then left shortly after. Shun said something about swinging by the person who helped him the other night's house and then possibly staying there or in a hotel. But, no. He didn't stay the night here," Marucho elaborated.

Other than the conversation on the phone, the room was very silent. None of the others said a word as they listened in. "I see….It appears that my Grandson lied to me. Guess that wouldn't be the first time. If I see him again, he will certainly not hear the end of it from me. Sorry to waste your time."

The phone clicked and made its droning sound when a call was ended. Marucho hung the phone back up on the wall and stared at it for the longest time, as if there were still things to say into it. He finally turned around and faced the others again, a somewhat dismal expression on his face.

"Well…..Wasn't expecting that," he stated flatly. Dan crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes down at the floor, as if the fancy carpeting needed his frustrations taken out on it. He said, "The liar….I wonder what else he hasn't been truthful about…..I bet you guys that that story of his about being jumped wasn't true, either…..It didn't sound believable, but I think we were all too relieved that he was alive to doubt it."

Julie shifted back and forth awkwardly from foot-to-foot and said nervously, "Maybe he was telling the truth about being attacked, and only lied to his grandfather about where he was going so the old man wouldn't worry." Alice shook her head and said sharply, "No. Even I could tell he was lying yesterday. He wasn't making eye contact with any of us while he was telling us his story….He was lying. No doubt about it."

Alice didn't mean to sound so harsh, but she was frustrated upon finding out that Shun hadn't only lied to them, but also to his grandfather, his own family. She figured that the person who was his flesh and blood at least deserved the truth and not the same twisted version that Shun had also given them.

But even through her frustration, Alice was also even more worried now. What could have been so bad that happened to Shun that pushed him to even lying to his own grandfather? Marucho sat down in one of the chairs at the dining table and said, "We have to get a hold of Shun. It's obvious that something bad happened to him if it pushed him to lying to us, instead of trusting us and telling us the truth."

They nodded in agreement with the short blond, but none of them had even the faintest idea as to where to begin their search for there lost friend. He could have been anywhere within the confines of the city And even closed off from the outside world, the city was large and expansive; it would take forever to search it for one person.

Julie spoke up and said, "But, Marucho, your parents refuse to let us out of your house until those murderers are caught. How do we plan to look for Shun, if we can't even leave?" Alice could see by the short blond's face that he hadn't taken the lockdown they were under into account.

"We won't have to leave. He'll come back to us," Alice blurted out. All eyes turned on her, desperately searching for an explanation into how that could be. She gazed down at her hands that were resting on the dark, wooden dining table and said, "He came to see us after whatever happened to him to let us know that he was alright. Odds are he's going to drop by again to continue to reassure us. Next time he does, we won't let him leave until he tells us the truth."

Marucho stared at her with his blue eyes for a moment, then said, "That's brilliant. I can't believe I didn't think of that." On any other day, hearing that she outsmarted Marucho would have brought pride to Alice, but not this time. The circumstances didn't allow for her to be proud of herself, now.

She had other things to worry about other than having a good theory. She knew until Shun made his way back to Marucho's, each day would be filled with anxiety in wondering if it would be the day they would confront him and get their answers.

It could take days, weeks, or months, but Alice knew that he would come back. They were his friends, after all. He didn't want them to worry about him if there was no need for it. The others returned to their seats at the table and finished whatever lunch was left on their plates.

Alice could see that their faces were even more at ease, and yet, she only continued to feel a weight add onto her shoulders. She had only meant to confront Shun herself, but now, she had everyone involved. It was possible that Shun might not tell them the truth when it was one on five; one-on-one was another story.

Alice sighed and decided to wait until the time came for those unknown events to play out. In the meantime, she could only carry on with her normal routines. So, she began to eat the rest of her lunch and tried to keep dark thoughts out of her mind while she ate.

_~O~_

Rather than returning back to his room like he probably should have, Shun decided to waste some time and walk around the enclave, the place that he now would have to call home. He maneuvered through the cavernous hallways, glancing at paintings and dimly lit torches as he passed by.

Much of the ambiance of the room fit the Victorian era or gothic periods of time, and oddly enough, Shun didn't mind it. He actually liked some of the dark décor and the ways it was used, such as the torches. It fit in with the enclave, not only because it was home to Vampires, but because it felt like it belonged.

Shun turned down another hallway and found himself in the main room. His eyes fell onto the door he had tried desperately to claw through during his one, and only, escape from the enclave. Nobody else was in the main room, and the absence of life create a somewhat eerie feeling to the room; maybe it was because Shun was so accustom to seeing it filled with the other Vampires.

"I wonder where they all are….," Shun asked himself under his breath. A thought then crossed his mind, and he looked down at the watch on his wrist. It said that it was a little past noon. Daytime. The other Vampires that inhabited the enclave were more than likely asleep, like he should have been.

But Shun hadn't exactly adapted to sleeping during the day and being active in the night, yet. He figured that it wouldn't be much longer till he did adapt, though, and then he would be one step closer to being like the Vampires he now associated himself with.

Shun turned around to leave out the room, but stopped dead in his tracks. He was being stared at. From the dark shadows of the far corners of the main room, he made out the faint outline of somebody standing there. "Hello?" he called out, curious to know who else was up during the day.

The figure took a step back further into the shadows. They said something, but Shun didn't quite catch what it was. "Hello?" he called again, "Who are you?" Shun stepped closer and found himself entering the shadows as well. When he did, his eyes immediately adjusted to the change in light, allowing him to see through the shadows.

The figure then became clear to his eyes; it was Zoran. Shun instantly remembered how the Vampire had called him a monster several nights ago, and how Shun fully agreed with him now. "Zoran, right? You're Loran's brother," Shun said calmly as to try not to startle the Vampire.

He recalled Loran's story of him and his brother, and how it was rare for Zoran to leave his room. Shun's gaze lifted up to the eye patch sewn into the Vampire's right eye. "What are you doing up? Don't you sleep during the day like the others?" Shun asked, trying to make some sort of small talk with Loran's brother.

Zoran backed further away from Shun and shook his head. "I…..I only come out during the day…That way, I can be alone…..I don't have to be around all of the monsters….," he said almost inaudibly. If it weren't for Shun's enhanced hearing, he might not have heard what the Vampire said.

The raven-haired teen felt bad for Zoran. He felt bad that the Vampire hated himself, not to mention everyone else, and that it drove himself to becoming an introvert. "You have no reason to fear any of them," Shun said calmly. Zoran shook his head furiously and shouted, "No! Monsters are meant to be feared! That's why people are afraid! That's why they run! Monsters kill!" Shun flinched back at the sudden outburst from Loran's brother.

"You know….Your brother, Loran, is trying everything in his power to make a better world for you," Shun told him. Zoran leaned back against the wall and held himself tight in his arms; it almost looked like he was trying to warm himself from a chill.

"I know…..Brother cares, but doesn't see that we'll always be monsters. Nothing will change about monsters." Shun wondered how Loran had it in him to keep on with his mission of making Zoran see differently; to him, it looked as if Zoran was beyond any feasible help.

The Vampire looked at Shun and said, "Please….Leave me be now….I don't like speaking to monsters…..I don't like looking at monsters…" Shun nodded and said back, "Okay. If that's what you want." He turned on his heels and left out of the shadows and returned to the dimly lit main room.

His eyes adjusted to the new light, and when he looked back at where Zoran was, he couldn't make out the Vampire's outline in the darkness. Shun had figured that Zoran had some demons after what Loran had told him, but hadn't thought of them to that extent.

The raven-haired teen shook his head and continued on his walk through the enclave, trying desperately to push Zoran's words out of his mind, but he just couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get _monster _out of his head.

* * *

oh, boy. Relationship issues. All I can say is, don't ever date as a teen. EVER. It will safe you a lot of headaches in the future. And with four days of school left, it's even giving me a bigger headache. Well, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	18. Desperation

_~O~_

Shun continued on his walk throughout the enclave, taking in every little ornate and minuscule detail that caught his eye. There was so much to see, and as much as he had walked since he spoke with Zoran, he was starting to wonder if there even was an end to the underground hideout.

Shun's mind shifted back to the conversation he had with Loran's brother, and how it had gotten to him a bit. In a way, Shun wanted to somehow help Zoran, but at the same time, didn't think that he was capable of taking the seemingly impossible task.

The raven-haired teen decided that if there was anything he could do to help the brothers out, then he would, but not take on anything he didn't think he could handle. It wasn't his struggle to fight through, it was their's. So, they should be the ones to push through, not him.

But a little help on the side wouldn't hurt. Shun came to another hallway, one lined with rooms on both sides. _More sleeping quarters for the Clan, I suppose, _he thought to himself and silently walked down the hall, trying his best not to cause any noise that might be caught by the sleeping Vampires' sensitive ears.

The last thing he wanted to do was wake anyone and get on their bad sides. Shun continued on down the hall, and came to a room that was not closed off like the rest. The door was swung wide open, and deep claw marks were carved into the wood structure and the walls by the door.

Shun traced his fingers along the grooves, feeling the deep indentions from where somebody, or something, had torn their way out of the room. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what could have done this kind of damage.

The only thing that made any sense, albeit ridiculous sense, was that a Vampire did it. It was the only thing within the confines of the enclave that had the ability to cause so much destruction. But Shun didn't see any of the Clan members as violent enough to do something like this, except for maybe Sinclair; he seemed to have a bit of a temper.

"That was Slay's doing," a voice suddenly said. Shun jumped up to his feet and turned around to see Sinclair standing before him. His eyes fell back down to the claw marks on the door and wall. "Slay?" Shun asked and turned his attention back to Sinclair.

The Vampire Lord sighed heavily and gave a single nod. "Yes. He was our resident assassin. I'm sure I mentioned his name before, but that doesn't matter," the golden-haired Vampire said and waved his hand dismissively. Shun's thoughts turned back to what he knew about the Clan's assassin before him. "Slay was the assassin before me, correct? What….What happened to him, again?" Shun asked.

He couldn't remember what Sinclair had said about Slay, if anything. The Vampire Lord interlocked his hands behind his back and stepped into the room that once belonged to their previous assassin. "He contracted Blight after a scuffle with Alexander's Vampires," he said flatly.

Shun followed Sinclair into the room, and was taken aback by the chaos that faced him. The walls were covered in claw marks like the door, the bed was torn to shreds, and everything else was either knocked over and smashed to pieces.

"Blight?" Shun asked and kicked a piece of broken dresser that was laying haphazardly on the floor. Sinclair, hands still held behind his back, tilted his head up at the ceiling, as if the words he needed were written among the small stalagmites. He said, "Yes, Blight. It's a condition that affects us Vampires. There are two ways to contract it, and that's through consuming blood directly from humans too much, or from a scratch from an already-infected Vampire. The second scenario is what happened to Slay."

Shun approached the remains of the bed and asked, "What exactly does it do? Just make Vampires lash out for no reason and destroy anything in their path?" Sinclair reached down and picked up a shattered picture frame from the ground. He stared at it while he spoke.

"No. It rots our brains, makes us forget everything that we know and replaces it with the most primal instinct, which is to feed….And to feed…..And to feed. It's never-ending. I've seen Blighted Vampires beg for help because they can't stop feeding from humans. And I've seen others die because they fed too much."

Shun took another glance around the room. He could just imagine Slay, the one who knocked him out after Shun witnessed the assassin kill a human, tearing the room apart as his mind was lost to the horrible condition. He could see as Slay scratched and clawed his way out of the room to break free and feed the urge that had taken over his brain and body.

Shun cringed at the thought and prayed he would never have to witness the actual thing, or go through it himself. Sinclair set the broken picture frame down on the destroyed bed and told Shun, "Just keep these two things in mind, and I tell this to all of the members of my Clan and Blood Ring….Well, I used to tell them the first part, but since the epidemic of Blight has started to make itself known, I've made it a point of telling them the second part. I'm off topic again. What I'm trying to tell you is, don't ever, _ever, _feed from a human unless it's absolutely necessary, and keep your guard up if you find yourself in a fight with another Vampire. Got it?"

Shun gave him a single nod; Sinclair wouldn't have to worry about him going against either one of those rules. From what he had heard, Blight wasn't something to be taken lightly, and it also wasn't something the raven-haired teen had any desire to experience first-hand.

Sinclair turned and faced Shun. He then said, "You really should be resting up. Not only will it help you get used to sleeping during the day, but you also need to be in top condition for your first assignment." Shun quickly caught what Sinclair had said towards the end.

"Assignment?" he asked, completely forgetting the formalities he should have been displaying before the Vampire Lord. Sinclair raised an eyebrow and had a look of amusement cross his face. "Yes, you'll take out your first mission as our new assassin in the upcoming days. Don't worry. It should be easy, even for somebody new to all of this. You'll do fine. But you still need some time to prepare and ready yourself," Sinclair said calmly, as if he were making idle chit-chat and not informing Shun that he was about to have to kill somebody on a whim.

The Vampire Lord left out of Slay's old room, and Shun quickly chased after him. "You're…..You're serious? So soon?" Shun asked, still not believing any of this and holding onto the hope that Sinclair was playing a sick joke on him. The golden-haired Vampire nodded, and his expression was blank.

_Dammit. He's not joking, _Shun thought frantically to himself. "We're basically at war with Alexander. Not only do we have to worry about him, but there is also the risk of the Society getting involved. I would like to go ahead and put an end to this before it catches too much fire. That way, nobody gets burned unless they're too close to the flames. In other words, we need all the muscle we can get if we intend to take down Alexander quickly. And as our assassin, you'll be of a major importance to us as a fighter in all of this. Am I clear?"

Shun could hear the tinge of annoyance forming in the back of Sinclair's voice, and he knew that he should stop prying and arguing while he was ahead. "Yes, Sir," the raven-haired teen quickly replied. Sinclair nodded and started down the hallway that he had suddenly materialized from when Shun had been investigating the claw marks on the door.

He was tempted to chase after Sinclair and ask if he really had to take out this assignment that had suddenly been placed before him, but didn't due to fear of causing anger to surge to the surface of the Vampire Lord. So, he turned and went in the opposite direction, which was the way he had originally come from before getting side-tracked.

As he walked, Shun placed his hand on his stomach. He felt sick now. When he accepted Sinclair's offer to become their new assassin, Shun had figured that killing another Vampire or human would become easier, that it wouldn't be so bad; the ones he would be killing _were _the scum of both societies, after all.

But now that he was faced with it for real, and that his personal D-Day was fast approaching him, he couldn't help but wish he had backed down. He wished that he had requested another task other than being the one who killed the Vampires and humans that didn't pay for the drugs they bought from the Blood Ring.

Shun leaned against the cave-like wall and took in deep, slow breaths as to not get himself more worked up than he already was. There had to be a way around his problem, there had to be a solution. But he couldn't think of any way to get around what he had signed up for. All he could do was go through with it, regardless of what his morals told him.

Maybe the killing would get easier in the long-run, but in the meantime, he would have to deal with the nauseating feeling the sheer thought left behind. Shun stopped walking when he reached a dead-end of a hallway. He glanced around, realizing that he had taken a wrong turn at some point while his mind had been busy with its internal war.

He was about to turn around and go back down the hall and try to find the way back to his own room, when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Shun turned to look at what it was, and saw that it was a large, walk-in freezer door like what restaurants use.

He cautiously approached it and saw that there was a padlock on the door, but wasn't locked. _Somebody must have forgotten to lock it back, _Shun thought to himself and was about to take the task into his own hands. But then his curiosity got the better of him.

He wanted to know what lay on the other side of the freezer door. So, he reached out and took the heavy handle into his hands, and pulled. A rush of cool air slithered past his ankles as he checked over his shoulders for anyone coming his way, then walked on in.

Inside, boxes, bags, and crates of blood-filled syringes were stacked and towered up to the ceiling in some places. It then occurred to Shun what this was. "The blood mixture they sell…..The Blood Ring's drug," he said as he gazed at the stacks of boxes. According to Loran, what Shun had been injected with by Alexander was much more potent than their mixture.

In other words, their drug had nothing on Alexander's. Shun reached into a plastic storage back and took out one of the blood-filled syringes. He examined it, watching as the crimson fluid rolled around in the cylinder. He was surprised by how much Sinclair had stored away, then remembered them mentioning that their supplies were running low.

Shun thought that if what was before him was low, he didn't even want to think about what normal supplies would look like. As he gazed at the syringe in his hands, he thought back to how he couldn't remember anything when he was under the influence of Alexander's drug, and a thought crossed Shun's mind.

What if the Blood Ring's mixture, even though weaker, also caused memory loss while in its grips? The possibility enticed Shun. He could have a way to not remember killing anyone. _It might be like it never even happened, _he mused to himself. The possibility of this was too much for him to pass up.

He slipped the syringe into his pant's pocket and hurried out of the freezer, shutting the door and locking the padlock like it should have been. Adrenaline at the thought of getting caught stealing from Sinclair and the Blood Ring made Shun's heart and pulse race, but he needed a way out, even if he had to make it himself.

And if it took numbing himself up, then so be it. He found his room, which was a few hallways down, and slipped inside, locking the latch behind him, just in case anyone tried to enter unannounced. Shun then took out the syringe from his pocket; it had lost some of its coolness after being out of the freezer for a little while.

He had to see, he had to see if he would remember anything while under the drug's influence. A thought then crossed his mind. What if it did make him forget, but also made him unable to function and carry out his assignment? If it did, then this whole thing would be for naught. He decided to try something.

Shun dug around in his room and found a piece of paper and a pen. He stared at the paper and pen and kept silently telling himself to write his name on the paper once the drug took effect. That way, when he would wake up, and if he saw that he had written his name, he would know he could manipulate himself through the drug, even though he wouldn't remember it.

When he felt like he had mentally told himself to write his name enough times, he removed the orange cap from the syringe. With trembling hands, he pierced his skin with the hair-thin needle and plunged the mixture into his veins.

In a matter of seconds, a small feeling of elation washed over him. That was short-lived when the floor beneath him started to swirl like water. And then, there was nothing else.

* * *

yeah, I did that. But you guys can't say that you didn't see this somehow happening, right? Right? Beh. Ignore me. I'm just happy my last day of school is Tuesday. :D Read and leave a review! ~Copperpelt~


	19. Internal Struggle

_~O~_

Shun groaned when he started to come out of his mind's haze. He lifted his head up and found that he was laying at the foot of his bed, one arm hanging off to the side. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to recall what had happened after he injected himself with the blood mixture, but couldn't.

Bits and pieces of whatever transpired tried to come through and return to his memory, but they weren't clear enough for Shun to make anything out of. The raven-haired teen sat up on his bed, and was hit with a slight wave of vertigo and nausea. He sat still for a moment to allow his body to catch up with his mind.

He felt sick, but nowhere near as sick as when he woke up from being injected with Alexander's drug. When he felt that he no longer ran the risk of falling over or possibly throwing up, Shun cautiously stood up from the bed. He wobbled a bit at first, but quickly regained his footing.

He could see why Sinclair said that their blood mixture was weaker. Walking or standing were out of the question when Shun first came out of the grips of Alexander's drug. But with Sinclair's, he was up and about, with only a bit of fog lingering in his mind.

_The paper. What did I do with it? _he thought to himself and began searching around the room. Before injecting himself with the blood mixture, Shun had wanted to test something. He figured if he told himself what to do enough times beforehand, his mind would somehow hold onto that order and he would do whatever he told himself prior.

After a bit of searching, Shun found the piece of paper. It had slipped under a dresser, and one corner was sticking out from underneath. He reached down and picked up the paper, and satisfied grin formed on his lips. There his name was, written on the paper like he had told himself to do.

His penmanship was a bit shaky and nowhere near as fluent as it normally was, and it appeared that he might have hesitated while writing at one point or another. But he didn't remember writing his name or anything, and that was just what he wanted.

This little act proved that he could manipulate himself with unconscious orders, and not recall it later when the drug wore off. A knock sounded at the door, and Shun quickly folded the paper with his name on it and tucked it away under his mattress.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the syringe he had use. He picked it up as well and threw it away in a trash can, adjusting the garbage inside to hide the needle. "Yes?" he asked to whoever was on the other side of the door. "Shun, Sinclair wants you in the Training Room.

He wants to see what kind of fighting skills you have and determine whether you'll need any training before your first assignment," the voice said, and Shun quickly recognized it as Loran's. He hurried over to the door, unlocked the latch, and opened it.

The gray-haired Vampire jumped slightly in surprise, obviously not expecting the door to open so suddenly. "Uh, sorry about that," Shun said nervously. Loran wave a dismissive hand and told him, "It's quite alright." He then narrowed his gray eyes at Shun and asked, "Is everything okay? You seem a bit…..On edge. Jumpy, even. Did you not sleep well, or something?"

Shun quickly figured that his so-called jumpiness was an after-effect of the drug, and he began to try and act as normal as he could manage. "I'm fine. Maybe I just haven't adjusted to sleeping in this place yet, so it's possible I didn't get enough rest," Shun lied.

He didn't like that he wasn't being honest with Loran. The gray-haired Vampire had been honest with him and was there if anyone ever needed him, and this was how Shun repaid him; with dishonesty. But it wasn't like he could just tell Loran that he broke into the supply room and took a syringe of their blood mixture in order to test something.

Loran raised an eyebrow at the raven-haired teen, an action that told Shun that he didn't believe his story of not sleeping well. But he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I'm sure you'll get used to the enclave sooner or later. I've heard stories that Alucard also had issues sleeping when he first arrived here a long time ago. But that might just be a rumor, so don't mention it to him. Last thing I want is to be called out as a liar or something."

Shun smiled and nodded. "I won't say anything to him about it," he told the gray-haired Vampire. Loran nodded and continued to lead Shun to wherever the Training Room was. It was possible that Shun passed by it when he was walking around the enclave earlier in the day, and didn't pay it any attention.

Loran stopped at a set of double-doors, and before opening them, said to Shun, "We didn't used to use this room a lot, but now with the whole ordeal with Alexander, it's getting more than its fair amount of use. So, please try and ignore any dust or dirt. It's not like we cleaned it a lot, either."

Shun nodded and stood back as Loran pushed the double-doors open. Inside, the Training Room somewhat reminded him of the dojo at his grandfather's. There were weapons designed for practice lining the walls, punching bags, sparing dummies, and anything else that could have been used to prepare someone for combat.

Oddly enough, the sense of familiarity provided Shun a sense of being back home, even if his time in the dojo weren't always good times. But that sense of being home, was erased with a sense of homesickness. It was possible that he would never see his grandfather except when he had some free time and could drop by; same went for his friends.

Loran pointed past two Clan members that were sparing and said, "Sinclair is back that way. Come on. Don't want to keep him waiting. Oh, and fair warning, he seemed a bit….Agitated when I spoke to him earlier, so watch yourself."

Shun nodded, but couldn't help but feel that Sinclair's agitation was caused by their conversation in Slay's old room, where Shun had accidentally argued with the Vampire Lord. Loran led him through the training floor and over to where Sinclair was standing. Alucard was also there, standing beside Sinclair. Shun began to wonder why Alucard was so loyal to the Vampire Lord.

There had to be a reason other than just being a high-ranking member of the Clan. Sinclair's gaze locked onto Shun as he and Loran approached them. Suddenly, the raven-haired teen felt nervous. What if Sinclair somehow knew that he had gone into the supply room and took one of the syringes?

What would the Vampire Lord do to him? But Sinclair only smiled and said, "It's good of you to join us. We just want to see if you're capable in the midst of battle, and if there are any problems, then we will help you develop a technique that will allow you to stand your own against our new enemy."

He motioned out to the training floor, where several sparing dummies were set out in random intervals. "These are your 'opponents' for right now. Your task is to prove that you can at least fight. So, select what you wish to fight with. Every assassin has their own personal weapon of choice."

Shun looked past the Vampire Lord and at the practice weapons lining the walls. There were bladed weapons, blunt weapons, hand-to-hand combat weapons, and multitudes of weapons that he had never seen before. Shun decided to stick with something close to home, and selected a set of Shuriken.

He had always been partial to the throwing star/knife and its usefulness as not only a long-range weapon, but also as a short-range. Sinclair had an expression of surprise on his face. Shun asked him, "Is something wrong with my choice, Sir?"

The Vampire Lord shook his head and told him, "No, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just that not many of our Clan members select those since none of them know how to use them properly. If anything, they end up hurting themselves more than the practice dummies."

Shun grinned and told Sinclair, "Well, I assure you, Sir, I know how to use them correctly." He took a bit of pride in knowing that he had a skill that none of the other Clan members had. Shun walked onto the training floor and held the Shuriken in his hand like you would hold onto a hand of cards.

Behind him, Sinclair said, "You can begin when you're ready." Shun nodded and narrowed his eyes at the targets before him. Before acting, he mentally planned out his moves, where each knife would go, and who would be sliced by the small, handheld blades. He took in a deep breath, and was relieved that his mind had finished clearing up from the drug that had been in his system not that long ago, because if it hadn't, the task before him would have been much more difficult.

Shun readied himself and began, making quick work of two dummies in the far back by throwing several of the Shuriken and embedding the blades right into their foreheads. He then ran up to the dummies that resided closest to him, and sliced into their fake throats with the weapons that he still concealed in his hands.

Now, he only had two of the sparing dummies left. He turned on his heels and threw one of the throwing knives into the foam chest of one, then turned again and stabbed the blade of his last throwing knife into the side of the dummy's skull. Shun stepped back, examining his work.

Perhaps it was a bit sloppier than he could have managed, since he hadn't been keeping up with his training for a little while, but all of his attacks would have been kills. On a normal person, that is. He didn't know about Vampires. Behind him, Shun heard somebody clapping.

He turned around and saw that it was Sinclair. "Very impressive," he said, "That speed of your's seems to have increased as well. Alucard, go and check the practice dummies and see how many of the hits would have been kills." Alucard nodded and walked out onto the training floor, where he began to inspect each of the foam dummies.

As he was doing that, Sinclair said, "You see, even though us Vampires heal quickly, there are some injuries we are unable to recover from in time before they do us in. Such things are being impaled in the heart. We can't heal in time before we bleed out. Another is a well-placed shot to the head. If it gets us just right and causes us paralysis to our entire body, then our organs are unable to function and heal in time. And then, there's leaving somebody out in the sun for a long period of time. It's not that they catch on fire, but they dehydrate and pretty much just dry out if they are exposed to direct sunlight for a while. Keep those weaknesses in mind."

Shun nodded and dedicated each one to memory; hopefully he would remember them while under the influence of the drugs when he went on his assignments. Alucard left the sparing dummies and stood beside Shun. He said, "All of them would have been kills, Sir."

Sinclair seemed a bit surprised for a moment, but regained his nonchalant expression. "Excellent. Now….Fight," he said. Shun stared at the Vampire Lord in surprise. "Fi-" He couldn't even finish his question before he was attacked by Alucard. The second-in-command tackled Shun, and had him pinned down onto the training floor by the neck.

Shun gasped for air and struggled beneath Alucard's strength. He clawed at the Vampire's hands that were wrapped around his throat and cutting off his air. Off to the side, Sinclair said, "You may run into a situation where you won't have a weapon to defend yourself with. If that happens, then you have to rely on your strength and fight hand-to-hand."

Shun could hear his windpipe making sounds as Alucard adding more pressure. The edges of his vision were starting to go black and fuzzy, and Shun could feel his fight leaving him, along with his oxygen. "Sinclair, call Alucard off! It's clear that Shun isn't a match for him!" Loran said frantically.

But Shun never heard Sinclair give the order to make Alucard let go. "You might have executed an impressive display of skills against those dummies with a weapon, but your combat skills are rather pathetic," Alucard spat and dug his knee into Shun's ribs.

The raven-haired teen cried out, but his cry came only as a hoarse whisper, thanks to the pair of hands strangling him. "Alucard, release him!" Loran shouted. The second-in-command narrowed his violet eyes up at Loran and snapped, "I'm not taking any orders from you. If Sinclair wants me to let him go, then I will. But you don't tell me what to do."

He then turned his attention back down to Shun and said, "You won't last a day out there if this is how you fight back." Shun's vision was almost completely black, and all he could see through the tunnels that had formed in his eyes, was Alucard staring down at him. _No….I can't…..I can't be beaten this easily, _Shun thought to himself. He then began to fight through the weakness that had taken hold of his body from being strangled.

He found the strength to lift his hand up, and buried his nails into Alucard's side. The second-in-command screamed and released his hold on the raven-haired teen's neck. Shun rolled over and grabbed onto where his throat had been strangled, and began to cough as he took in large gulps of air.

His vision came back into focus with the return of oxygen to his brain. Shun then looked over at Alucard, who had put distance between them and was clutching his side. The white shirt he wore was stained with blood, as where his hands. Shun then remembered and looked down at his own hands.

The hand he had used to claw Alucard off of him, was drenched in blood, and his nails, at some point, had sharpened into claws; they, too, were caked with blood. Alucard narrowed his brilliant purple eyes at Shun and ran at the raven-haired teen.

Still somewhat disoriented, Shun tried to scramble up to his feet and give himself a fighting chance before Alucard got his hands on him again. "Alucard, that's enough!" This time, it was Sinclair barking the order, not Loran. Alucard skidded to a halt a few feet short of Shun and turned to look at Sinclair, a look of bewilderment in his purple eyes.

The Vampire Lord's eyes fell onto the wound in Alucard's side as he said, "This is enough. I've seen what I need. There's no more need to continue fighting. Alucard, go and get changed out of that bloody shirt and come speak to me in my office when you've done so."

Alucard, still clutching his side, nodded and exited the Training Room. Loran ran out onto the training floor and helped Shun up to his feet. "I'm sorry. I tried to get him to stop before he choked you out, but I should have known that Alucard wouldn't listen to me," he said quickly.

Shun rubbed the sore spot on his neck and told Loran hoarsely, "It's alright. I'm fine." Loran nodded, but Shun could still see the guilt in the young Vampire's eyes. He didn't know why Loran felt that he was at fault. Maybe it was that "Humanitarian of Vampires" thing that Shun had heard thrown around from time to time. "Both of your are dismissed now and are free to do what you wish for the rest of the night," Sinclair told them and left out of the Training Room.

Loran and Shun both bowed as the Vampire Lord left. The gray-haired Vampire turned to Shun and said, "I think I might check in on Alucard and talk to him. I know he won't be happy about it, but it won't hurt, right?" Shun shrugged.

Personally, he didn't want to see Alucard for a while; being strangled was too much face-time for him for a day. Loran hurried out of the Training Room behind Sinclair, leaving Shun behind. The raven-haired teen looked out on the training floor where he had fought with Alucard, and his eyes landed on the small pool of blood that he had drawn from the second-in-command.

His mind immediately went to the thought of the syringe of Vampire-human blood that was used as a drug. His skin started to crawl with anticipation at the thought, and his mind began to scream for more.

* * *

Well, nothing new to report. I don't think I mentioned this before, and I believe I kept forgetting to, but I have lok-a-likes and pictures of who I based the OCs off of on my profile under my photobucket link for this story. Check it out if you want to. There are also summaries about each character, but there shouldn't be any major spoilers. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	20. Stitch These Wounds

_~O~_

Loran made his way through the halls until he reached Alucard's room. He stood in front of the room, knowing that the second-in-command wouldn't be too pleased with his intrusion. But Loran, being the concerned Vampire that he was, wanted to talk with him and make sure everything was alright; he also wanted to discuss how things got out of hand back in the Training Room.

Loran reached out and knocked lightly on the door, which was only pulled to. The door creaked open a bit, and he cautiously stepped inside. "Alucard?" Loran asked cautiously as he entered the rest of the way into the room. He caught sight of Alucard standing beside his bed. The Vampire turned around and saw Loran.

Hostility then filled his eyes. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he asked harshly and wrapped himself up in the button-up shirt he had on during his fight with Shun back in the Training Room. Loran's eyes fell onto the bloodstain as he said, "Just came by to make sure everything was okay. It looked like Shun landed a pretty deep wound on you, and I thought I'd see if you wanted any blood to help regain your strength."

Alucard narrowed his eyes at Loran and snapped, "I thought I told you I can't stand your little Humanitarian of Vampires bit. If I haven't, then I just did. Now, get the hell out of my room." Loran tensed up at Alucard's hostility, but didn't leave the room. "Why is that you harbor such ill feelings towards me, even when I'm trying to offer you help?" the gray-haired Vampire asked bluntly.

Alucard turned his back towards Loran and said, "It's none of your concern. I'm more than entitled to hate some people and favor others, am I not?" Loran remained silent for a moment. It wasn't that he was trying to make Alucard his friend or anything.

He just wanted to be on better, less hostile, terms with his fellow Clan member. Was it too much to ask that they all live together without being at one another's throats? "Of course you are allowed to have opinions on…..," Loran's words trailed off when he caught sight of something that Alucard was trying to keep hidden in his hand.

"What's that?" he asked. Alucard scowled and hid his hand more behind his back. "What are you talking about? And didn't I tell you to get out?" the second-in-command said harshly. Loran narrowed his eyes and ran beside Alucard, where he grabbed the Vampire's hand and pried the contents away.

"Hey!" Alucard shouted, his eyes blazing with not only anger, but also fear. Loran opened his hand to see what he had taken from his fellow Clan member, and saw that it was black surgical thread and a needle. He stared at it in confusion. "What in the world are you doing with something like this?" he asked and held up the thread that had no business being in the enclave.

Alucard took a step back and held onto his side that Shun had injured. Loran raised an eyebrow and said, "Let me see the wound, Alucard." He reached out to look under the bloodstained shirt, but his hand was slapped away before he could even get a hold onto the white, cotton fabric.

"Don't touch me," Alucard hissed. Loran saw as the second-in-command's hand was suddenly glistening with blood from wound; it was still bleeding. "Alucard….Your wound's not healing…It should have healed by now," he said in confusion. Alucard scowled and adverted his gaze away from the gray-haired Vampire. It then occurred to Loran what was at play before him.

"You're…..You're not a Noble like Sinclair, are you? You're part human. That's why you're not healing, isn't it?" Alucard remained silent. Loran shook his head in disbelief. "That wound could have ended up killing you if it was deep enough, you know that, right?" Alucard reached out and snatched the surgical thread and needle out of Loran's hands.

"I am fully aware of that, you little brat! That's why I was stitching up my damn injury before you came in!" he yelled. Loran shook his head again. He couldn't wrap his mind around what he had just learned. Alucard had been lying to them all this time, saying that he was a Noble like Sinclair.

"Does….Does Sinclair know about you?" Loran asked. Alucard narrowed his eyes with disgust and said, "Of course Sinclair knows! He knows everything about everyone in this place! But he's the only one who knows about me, and I intend for it to stay that way! So, if you even think about telling anyone else about this, then I will make you pay for it!"

Alucard's face then contorted into one of pain, and he went back to clutching his injured side; all of the yelling was only causing him more pain. Loran stared at the still-bleeding wound and said, "Give me the thread and needle." Alucard stared at him as if he had just gone mad.

"Give you the thread? And why the hell would I do that?" he asked defensively. Loran held out his hand and told him, "Because, I can easily tell by the way that your wound is bleeding beneath the shirt that you didn't do a good job at sewing it up." Alucard took a step away from he gray-haired Vampire. "I've sewn up my injuries plenty of time. I know what I'm doing," the second-in-command said defiantly.

Loran countered by saying, "And it probably took longer for it to heal than it would have with a proper stitching. Besides, with all of the trouble Alexander is causing us, I'm sure he'll want you in good health as soon as possible, considering he really knows about you being part human."

Alucard was quiet for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Fine….If it will get you out of my room and sight quicker." Loran ignored the insult and took the thread without retort. Alucard pulled the bloody shirt away from the wound to reveal the stitching he had been doing before Loran walked in.

The stitching was done hastily and all over the place; all it would have done was stop the wound from bleeding, and eventually heal up after a while. But with all of the yelling and moving that Alucard had been doing moments after, the stitches had separated slightly, allowing the wound to bleed more and keep it from healing.

Loran carefully removed the botched stitches, trying not to cause Alucard anymore pain than necessary. He threw the used thread away in a trash can and went to work on putting the new ones into the wound, after cleaning it up a bit to prevent infection.

All during this, Alucard refused to look at Loran, but that didn't bother the gray-haired Vampire; he was too busy threading the needle through the injury. Upon closer inspection, Loran found himself surprised that Shun had done that much damage to Alucard, when back at the Training Room, it appeared that it was only a small scratch or cut than had been inflicted.

But now that Loran was closer, he could see where Shun had dug into Alucard's side, and then clawed down, tearing away at more of the Vampire's flesh. Just looking at the injury even made Loran's side ache with psychological pain. "I owe Sinclair a lot," Alucard suddenly said.

Loran looked up at him in surprise. "And why is that?" he asked as he threaded the needle through another time. Alucard sighed heavily, which nearly made Loran mess up one of the stitches.

"Hey, don't do that," he snapped. The second-in-command quickly apologized and said, "Actually, I owe him my life. If he hadn't come along and asked for me to join the Clan, then I'm sure I'd still be out on the streets doing the same stupid things I had been doing before. Stealing, fighting, and too many other things I'm not proud of."

Loran only nodded. He didn't dare speak while Alucard was telling him these things because he was surprised that the second-in-command was even speaking of his past. Then again, Loran knew first-hand what it was like to want to spill all your secrets to someone after having them holed up for a while.

That very thing had happened to him when Loran had told Shun of his and Zoran's story, and it had felt good to get the built-up weight off of his shoulders. Loran decided it would be beneficial to make some small-talk, so he asked, "If you're not a Pure Blood, then how come none of us can smell the human blood in you?"

Alucard flinched as the needle went through his flesh again. "Well….The Noble thing isn't entirely a lie. My father was a powerful Noble, if not in the same ranks as Sinclair. His bloodline was enough to drown out most of the human blood from my mother, but not enough to give me all of the abilities that a Pure Blooded Vampire possesses, like rapid healing," he explained.

"I can be killed easier, but there are some benefits to it. I can go out into the sun without having to cover myself up to keep from getting burned, and I don't have to consume blood as regularly as Pure Bloods do. But that's about it. My senses are weaker, which puts me at a major disadvantage at times."

Loran now understood why back when Shun was first brought to the enclave, Alucard had suggested draining the raven-haired boy of his blood, without realizing that the blood wasn't desirable among clients; he had just thought it was a careless error on Alucard's part, not that the Vampire was unable to pick up on the scent of Shun's blood.

"So….What drove you to doing those things that you mentioned earlier? The stealing and all of that?" Loran asked, trying to keep the conversation from falling into silence. He wanted to know what had made Alucard into who he was, and the gray-haired Vampire might not have another chance after this.

"What else was I supposed to do? Where in this world is there a place for a freak of nature like me to fit in and belong? Certainly not among normal humans, and not even really among Vampires, either. I was in limbo, and I needed to find a way to make a living. Doing all of those things was the only thing I could come up with."

Loran cast his eyes down and muttered inaudibly under his breath, "That sounds like something Zoran would say….." He then looked back up at Alucard and asked, "What about your parents? Weren't they around for you?" When Alucard didn't immediately respond, Loran was sure that the second-in-command was done talking.

But after another minute or so, Alucard finally said, "My mother died shortly after I was born, and my father took care of me for a while. He thought there was some potential for me to take over his place in the family when he died, since I was his only son. But when I was a bit older, he had another child, one of Pure Blood, that was a more fit and reasonable choice to take over than I was. After that, father pretty much ignored me, didn't even bother to acknowledge me as his son. He mainly just treated me like some kind of servant. I got sick of it and left. That was when I began committing all of those crimes."

Loran stared blankly down at the floor. _He was mistreated like Zoran because his sibling was favored more than he was, and because he was different. It's just like Zoran and I, _Loran realized. And with that realization, it occurred to him why Alucard might have hated him so much, and why he seemed to favor Zoran more.

To him, Loran was the brother that he lost his father's affection to, and Zoran was nothing more than a mirror-image of him with the abuse and neglect. _That's why he hates me. I remind him of the child his father had and replaced him with. The child that ruined his life. And Zoran….Zoran reminds him of himself….His and Zoran's stories are so similar….., _Loran thought grimly.

He snapped back to focus and tied off the end of the stitching, making sure the knot at the end held firm and wouldn't come undone. "There….It's done," Loran said, his voice sounding like it was heavy with fatigue. Alucard glanced down and looked at the stitched wound.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you," he said and stood up. Loran watched as the Vampire strode across the room and took out a clean, fresh shirt from his closet. Alucard quickly changed into it and buttoned it up. "Hey, Loran," he said. The gray-haired Vampire stood up from where he had been kneeling and said, "Yes?"

Alucard glanced over his shoulder at the young Vampire and said, "Remember, my bloodline stays secret. If any of the other Clan members find out, they'll make sure I am expelled from the Clan, seeing as only those of Pure Blood are supposed to be allowed." A thought crosses Loran's mind, and he made it known by asking, "What about Shun? They won't kick him out, will they? He's not Pure Blood either."

Alucard chuckled humorously and said, "He was Turned by Sinclair. He might as well be considered a Pure Blood, if not a low-ranking Noble as well. I, on the other hand, will be booted out in a heartbeat by the others if they find out, and Sinclair will have no other choice but to, or else he'll make it known that he knew of my secret and be looked down on by his own Clan…I can't afford to lose this and go back to the old life that Sinclair saved me from."

Loran nodded and told Alucard, "I understand. I won't tell anybody." The second-in-command slipped a jacket over his shirt and said, "Good. Now, if you don't mind, I need to talk with Sinclair."

Alucard brushed by the gray-haired Vampire as he left out of the room. Loran stared at the door for a while, then sighed. "Might as well go and check in on Shun now and see how he's holding up after his fight," he thought aloud and left from the room, pulling the door closed on his way out.

* * *

_Chapter title based off the song We Stitch These Wounds by Black Veil Brides. _nothing new to report. Might do some fishing later in the day though, if that's of any importance to anyone. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	21. A Helping Hand

_~O~_

Shun paced back and forth around his room. He rubbed the sides of his arms, as if a chill kept creeping up on him. Ever since seeing the puddle of blood back on the Training Room floor, his mind had shifted back to thinking about the syringe of the blood mixture he injected himself with, and his body cringed for more.

Shun shook his head furiously and said to himself, "No! Only use it when I have to! Only use it when I have to…." But no matter how much he told himself this, his mind and body still craved those numbing effects from the mixture. He had predicted that something like this might happen, but Shun had thought he'd have a bit more control over it than this.

He leaned against the wall beside his bed, slid down the wall, and took a seat on the floor. He had worn himself out from all of his pacing in an attempt to keep his mind occupied and focused on other things. But all it had done was tire him out; it did nothing for the screams of want radiating throughout him.

Shun ran a hand through his hair, and found it damp from sweat. He wiped his palm dry on his jeans. There was then a knock on the other side of the door, followed by Loran's voice. "Hello? Shun? Are you in there?" he asked from behind the door.

Shun leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Yeah. Come in," the raven-haired teen replied back. He knew Loran would more than likely say something about his current condition, and as much as it pained Shun, he would just lie and tell the Vampire that the training session had taken a lot out of him.

The door opened, and Loran stepped inside. He looked around the room until his gray eyes locked on Shun. "Shun? What's wrong?" he asked and hurried over to the raven-haired teen's side. Shun smiled faintly and said, "The training wore me out is all."

Loran looked Shun over and said, "You look pale. Have you drank anymore blood since being back here?" Shun shook his head. He knew it wasn't Bloodlust setting in, like Loran thought. Shun knew exactly what his Bloodlust felt like, and this wasn't it. All it was, was his body craving more of that blood mixture.

"No," he told the Vampire, "The last time I drank any was before I left out to see my friends and grandfather, and then there was when you were trying to get the mixture out of my blood that Alexander put in there, but I doubt that counts." Loran stood up and extended his hand out to Shun.

"Come on. You need to drink some. That's probably what's wrong with you and why you're so tired, other than the training," he said as he helped Shun up to his feet, "Just follow me." Shun walked behind the Vampire as they left his room.

He figured Loran must have been taking him to where they kept the blood for consumption. As they walked, Loran said to him, "You're really going to have to keep a tabs of when you drink. We all have to, but it's a bit more crucial for you since you weren't Turned that long ago. I guess it was a good thing that I decided to check in on you after Alucard. There's no telling what would have happened if I hadn't. More than likely you would have fallen into Bloodlust, and then we would have had a problem on our hands, seeing as we don't know how you act under your Bloodlust."

Loran continued to drabble on, but Shun paid him little mind. His thoughts were elsewhere, not on the topic of Bloodlust. In front of him, Loran came to a halt, nearly causing Shun to walk into him. The gray-haired Vampire told him, "Here we are." Loran reached out and opened the door.

Inside, the room was dimly lit by its torches, and the brightest light came from the LED's that illuminated the fridge where multitudes of bags of blood hung. "Go on and sit down," Loran instructed him. Shun nodded and sat down at a small, plastic fold-out table towards the back of the room.

He examined the dried bloodstains that dotted the gray plastic here and there, and he could feel his stomach tighten a bit. He tore his gaze from the table's surface and looked back at Loran. The Vampire had pulled one of the plastic bags from the fridge and had cut it open.

He was now in the process of pouring it into an ornate chalice. Shun watched as the last drop fell into the cup. Loran threw the empty bag away and walked over to where Shun was sitting, and set the chalice down in front of him on the table.

The raven-haired teen stared into the dark, crimson liquid for several minutes, and couldn't help but feel his stomach do a little flip at the sight. "I really think I'm fine. There's no need for this right now," he said in hopes that he would get out of having to drink the blood.

Loran crossed his arms over his chest and said, "You're going to have to get over this eventually. It's either drink this or succumb to Bloodlust and end up hurting people around you when you spiral out of control." Shun groaned. He had heard that speech plenty of times since becoming a part of the Yoru Clan.

But he was still conflicted. Drinking blood still made him sick to his stomach, but so did the thought of losing his control and possibly hurting his friends or grandfather. And whenever he weighed the options, the safety of his family and friends always prevailed. Shun sighed and took the chalice in his hands.

The blood inside sloshed around from being moved. Loran had left the table's side and was back at the fridge, pawing through the bags of blood. Shun watched as the Vampire emptied a bag into a new chalice for himself, and began to drink from it.

Loran walked back over to the table, and when he was closer, Shun could see a bit of red staining the Vampire's upper lip. He quickly looked away and stared back into his own glass of blood. "You might want to hurry up and drink that," Loran said after another sip of blood, "It doesn't taste very good when it gets to room temperature."

Shun sighed and took a tentative whiff of the blood. It had a metallic smell. He wanted to turn his nose up at it, but the new nature that he been imbued into him through being Turned said otherwise. It wanted the blood, it wanted to taste the crimson liquid.

But Shun's human conscious kept telling him that it wasn't natural, that it was taboo to drink blood. Then again, he had just inject himself with the blood of humans and Vampires as if it were nothing, and it hadn't bothered him. So, why should this? He put the chalice to his lips and took a small sip.

The blood was thick and tasted of copper and salt, and the moment it reached his stomach, he felt as though he might have been sick right there on the spot. But he held down the urge to expel the blood from his body. It wasn't as bad as the experience he had had before he was allowed to go out and see his friends and family; at that time, he had pretty much been forced to drink the red fluid of life.

And it certainly wasn't as bad as the time when he had been unconscious and Loran had made him drink the blood. It seemed as though it was getting a bit easier, but it would still take a while to get used to. "Just drink that and you should be fine for a while," Loran said and finished off the rest of the blood in his chalice.

The Vampire then left out of the room, leaving Shun by himself. The moment the raven-haired teen thought he was completely alone, he jumped up from the table and hurried over to the sink that resided under the cabinets of glasses.

He held the chalice over the sink, readying himself to pour the blood down into the drain so he wouldn't have to consume anymore, but stopped himself when he realized something. That little sip of blood he had taken had quieted down his mind and body's craving for more of the drug he had taken.

It was still there, but nowhere near as profound and as it had been. Shun stepped away from the sink and stared down at the chalice of blood; it was one half of the ingredient in the blood mixture, after all. So, it made sense that it helped subdue some of the symptoms left behind by the drug.

Shun bit down on his lower lip and gasped as his tooth punctured it, drawing some of his own blood. He reached up and felt that his canine teeth had sharpened down into sharp fangs from the consumption of blood, a natural reaction for Vampires. Shun leaned against the sink and stared at his reflection in the chalice.

If it helped him get through the after effects of the drug, along with assuring him that he wouldn't lose his control due to Bloodlust, then he figured that those two factors would be enough to encourage him to drink the blood. Shun took in a shaky breath and tilted the chalice back to his lips.

_~O~_

Alucard stepped into Sinclair's study, and was greeted by the narrowed eyes of the Vampire Lord. "Took you a while to stitch up your wound," he said and straightened up in his chair. Alucard sat down on the edge of the desk and told Sinclair, "My apologies. Loran came into my room when I had just finished stitching the wound up. The stitches then came loose and he offered to fix them."

Sinclair raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, he knows about your little secret now, does he?" Alucard only gave a single nod. He still hated himself for showing weakness and for spilling his past to Loran. But he hadn't been able to help it.

It had just happened, and when he started telling his story, he couldn't stop. Next thing he knew, he had given Loran his entire back-story. "Yeah, he knows, but he's not going to tell anyone. I made sure of that," Alucard said flatly.

He knew Loran was a Vampire of his word, so there really were no worries of the little Humanitarian of Vampires going around and telling everyone that Alucard wasn't a Pure Blood like the rest of the Clan. Sinclair nodded. "That's good. Now, onto what I wanted to talk to you about. What is your opinion on what you saw back in the Training Room?" the Vampire Lord asked.

Alucard brought his hand up to his injured side and said, "That kid is a pretty good fighter with weapons, but hand-to-hand he needs work on, because if this is how he intends to fight back, he'll be killed in a matter of minutes." Sinclair's lips curved up into a devious smile.

"Then again, if he had just put a little bit more force behind his attack to your side, he could have killed you with just that one attack," he mused. Alucard narrowed his eyes down at Sinclair, which only earned him a chuckle from the Vampire Lord.

The second-in-command sighed heavily and said, "Fine. I misjudged him by how easily I got the upper-hand. But I promise you that if I get into a sparing match with him again, he won't land a single hit on me." Sinclair waved a dismissive hand and told Alucard, "Don't worry. I'm not saying you're weak or anything. You've done plenty these past years to prove your usefulness to me and this Clan. You don't have to prove anything to me by winning a match against a recently Turned Vampire, Alucard."

Sinclair strode over to the small table where he kept a crystal bottle of blood, and poured some into two glasses. He returned over to his desk and offered one of the glasses to Alucard. "Take one. It will help with your injury," the Vampire Lord told him.

Alucard graciously took the crystal glass of blood, making sure to thank Sinclair, and took a sip of the crimson liquid. The blood type was a mixture of Type O and Type A, which was Sinclair's favorite, but Alucard wasn't that partial to it.

Regardless, he thought it would have been rude to turn down the Vampire Lord's generous offer, and he also agreed with Sinclair that the blood would help speed up his unnaturally slow healing.

"But what I wished to discuss with you, Alucard, is what we are to do to polish up Shun's fighting skills in time for his first field mission," Sinclair said and gazed longingly into his crystal glass of blood, as if an answer resided within it, "You and I both know how powerful my blood is, and even I'm seeing some of my qualities coming through in Shun, such as my speed. I can only guess that he'll only keep getting stronger and more powerful as my blood makes itself home and completely takes root."

Alucard set his glass down on the desk and said, "He's only got a couple more days before his first job as our new assassin. In my opinion, his weapon skills are fine, but we'd have to spend hours on his hand-to-hand combat if we're planning on sending him out there."

Sinclair tapped the side of his glass with his fingernail and rested his chin in his other hand. "If we're to do that, then I'd want to be his sparing partner." Alucard's purple eyes widened in surprise. "But, Sir. If he's going to turn out as strong as you're saying, then do you really want to put yourself in possible harm's way? I'd be more than happy to be his sparing partner instead. It would give me a chance to get back at him for earlier."

Sinclair raised his hand and stopped Alucard from saying anything else. "It's quite alright. He might adopt a lot of my powers, but they'll only be half as strong as mine. I'll be more than able to stand my own. You, on the other hand, run a high risk of sustaining a fatal injury out there against him if he learns how to fight properly. Alucard, you have to remember, he doesn't know about your inability to heal quickly. He could kill you on accident, and then what would I do without a second-in-command? You've become too valuable to just be replaced by somebody else."

Alucard clenched his jaw and growled in aggravation. He knew Sinclair was right. The injury he obtained was bad enough, but if Shun had put anymore force behind it or landed the hit a few inches higher or lower and hit a vital organ, then the wound could have turned fatal.

"You're right, Sir. I didn't think of any of that," he said and heaved a heavy sigh. Alucard then looked dead at Sinclair and told him, "But remember this too, Sir. I'm a lot more replaceable than you are, and you're also a lot more valuable to the Clan than I am. Keep that in mind."

Sinclair smiled and said, "Ah, honest and humble as always, Alucard. You have my word that I will make sure that my well-being shall remain safe and as one of my top priorities."

This brought a bit of ease to Alucard's aggravation; he knew Sinclair stayed true to the promises he made. The Vampire Lord finished off the last of the blood in his glass and said, "It's settled, then. We'll begin his real training tomorrow night."

* * *

my summer vacation is now in full swing! woo! so, enjoy early uploads and more frequent uploads! read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	22. Lesson Learned

_~O~_

Shun entered into the Training Room like he had been requested to do so by Sinclair earlier in the night. He was sure that his presence was wanted so the Vampire Lord could discuss his previous display of fighting skills and tell him if any adjustments would need to be made.

Inside the Training Room, Shun found Loran, Sinclair, and Alucard standing towards the far, back corner. They were speaking to one another, but ceased their conversation when Shun approached them. Sinclair smiled and said, "Perfect timing. I assume you're ready for today's training."

The Vampire Lord circled around the raven-haired teen like a predator examining its prey. Calmly, Shun asked, "And what kind of training will I exactly be doing today?" Sinclair's lips curved up into a grin, and he stopped right in front of Shun.

"We're here to work on your hand-to-hand combat. The display you showed us with your sparring match with Alucard wasn't exactly up to my standards, so we're going to polish up on some techniques before you're sent out onto your first assignment," he explained.

Shun nodded and asked, "So, will I be up against Alucard again, or what?" He glanced over at Alucard. The second-in-command to Sinclair seemed to have an expression of unease on his face. Sinclair chuckled and said, "No, no. Alucard will be sitting this one out today. You'll be fighting against me instead."

Shun felt his eyes widen. He would be fighting Sinclair? Nerves started to take hold of the raven-haired teen. He hadn't seen Sinclair fight before, but he knew for a fact that the Vampire Lord was powerful. "I'm going to be fighting….You, Sir?" Shun asked, hoping he had misheard.

Sinclair only grinned and gave him a single nod. "Yup. I'm to be your opponent. So, I hope you're prepared." Shun could hardly call himself prepared. He had entered the Training Room just thinking he would be faced with a minor discussion, and maybe even another fight with Alucard, which he was somewhat prepared for.

But to spar with Sinclair hadn't even crossed his mind. Shun remembered how Alucard nearly choked him unconscious; there was no telling how quickly Sinclair would take him down. The raven-haired teen cast a desperate glanced over at Loran and Alucard, wishing for one of them to step in and take Sinclair's spot.

Maybe Alucard would want to spar instead to get payback for the minor wound that Shun had inflicted on the Vampire the other day. But neither one of them said anything. They just stood there, lips shut tight and eyes locked onto the training floor.

"Are you ready or not?" Sinclair asked from the center of the training floor they were to use for their fight. Shun gulped and replied back, "Of course, Sir." Shun stepped onto the floor and stood facing Sinclair. There was at least fifteen feet of space between the two of them, but Shun knew that Sinclair was more than capable of clearing that distance easily.

"Whenever you're ready to start the match, Alucard," Sinclair called out to his loyal friend. The second-in-command cleared his throat and stepped to the side of the training floor. He raised his head and said, "Begin." Shun didn't even get a chance to blink his eyes before he found himself slammed onto the hardwood floor.

He gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs from the force. As he tried to regain his breathing, he was able to sit up and saw that Sinclair was still standing in the spot he had been before the match started. It was as if the Vampire Lord hadn't even moved from where he stood.

Shun quickly forced himself to stand and braced himself for Sinclair's next onslaught of attacks; he wasn't going to get caught off guard again. Sinclair narrowed his eyes and suddenly vanished from where he had been standing, and then materialized beside Shun, where the Vampire Lord then kicked the raven-haired teen's feet out from underneath him, putting him back onto the floor with a thud.

_He's so fast I can't even see him! _Shun thought to himself as he scrambled back up to his feet. _How can I fight him if I can't even keep up with him? _A forced rammed into Shun's side, sending him back onto the floor and skidding along the well-polished surface.

He shook himself back into focus and looked up to see Sinclair standing in the center of the training floor, examining his nails as if they were more interesting that the fight at hand. Shun growled. The Vampire Lord glanced over at him and smiled. "Do you plan on fighting anytime today?" he asked slyly.

Shun narrowed his eyes, then looked back at where Loran and Alucard stood to see what their expressions said. He noticed that Alucard's previous look of unease, had relaxed some. As for Loran, Shun could see that the gray-haired Vampire was trying to keep from speaking up and stopping the match like he had tried to do last time.

Shun returned his gaze back to Sinclair and stood up, ready to take whatever hit the Vampire Lord felt like dealing out this time. "Are you getting annoyed? Why not do something about it, then?" Sinclair taunted. Shun quickly realized that the Vampire Lord was trying to get him to lash out blindly, to react without thinking.

But he wasn't going to fall for it. "I'll fight you when you decide to quit running like a coward," Shun retorted back, a confident grin plastered on his face. He thought he saw a bit of amusement flash across Sinclair's face. "Very well, then," the Vampire Lord said back, "But only if you promise to give it your all." Shun let out a short, humorless laugh and said, "Of course."

The two then charged at each other and quickly found themselves in a fist-fight. Shun threw a punch, but Sinclair grabbed his wrist, easily stopping the arc of his attack. The Vampire Lord then twisted his arm, which, in turned, caused the movement to transfer into Shun's arm and flip him onto the floor.

Sinclair kept a grip on the raven-haired teen's contorted arm, using it as leverage to keep an upper hand. Shun squirmed around on the floor, trying desperately to writhe his way out of the painful hold. "Rule One, if you know you're outmatched by your opponent strength-wise, then use his own body against him," Sinclair said and released his hold.

Shun snatched his arm back and examined it, making sure that it wasn't broken anywhere. His arm appeared to be fine, except for a few red marks, much like an Indian Burn, from where his skin had been twisted beyond what it was normally used to. "Now, stand back up," the Vampire Lord instructed. Shun nodded and got back up to his feet, rotating his arm to get it feeling back to normal again.

Sinclair charged at the raven-haired teen, going a much slower speed than before, and landed a punch in Shun's ribs. The Vampire Lord landed several consecutive hits in the same area, causing Shun to stammer back and nearly lose his balance.

Shun growled and tried to punch back to at least land one hit, but Sinclair quickly dodged the attack, and the momentum Shun had built up, caused him to keep going and land back onto the ground again. At this point, he was getting sick of ending up on the floor.

"Rule Two, being able to dodge quickly and not lose your footing can be a game-changer in a fight," Sinclair said as he knelt down beside Shun. The Vampire Lord stood up and walked away. Shun narrowed his eyes and quickly ran at Sinclair, planning a sneak attack from behind.

But Sinclair turned around and held up his hands, blocking every punch and kick that Shun threw his way. And when the teen's focus wavered, the Vampire Lord landed a kick in the side of his knee. And for what seemed like the millionth time, Shun found himself back on the floor.

"Rule Three, defense is a very crucial element, whether you're stronger than your opponent or not. It'll keep your opponent from possibly landing a critical hit on you and winning." Shun felt himself growing aggravated. So far, all Sinclair had done was keep sending him to the floor and giving him little tips.

_I thought he was supposed to be helping me with techniques, _he thought bitterly to himself as he got up to his feet. Perhaps it would have just been better for Shun to stay on the floor, seeing as he would probably end up there again anyway.

But he was too determined to make Sinclair eat his own words and at least give the Vampire Lord a run for his money. Shun growled and charged at Sinclair, hoping to use his developing speed to an advantage. All Sinclair did, though, was take steps back. Each step gave him enough distance to just miss Shun's punches.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shun caught a glimpse of Sinclair kicking a foam mat in between them, but Shun couldn't react in time before he tripped over the mat, landing on it. "Rule Four, your surroundings are there to be used for your advantage," the Vampire Lord said in that arrogant tone that was starting to really get on Shun's nerves.

Over on the side of the training floor, he heard laughter and glanced over to find that Loran was trying to cover up his smile and laughs with his hand, while Alucard chuckled. Shun narrowed his eyes. "Shut up!" he snapped. They both silenced themselves and stared in surprise at the raven-haired teen's outburst.

"Don't take it out on them. They've did nothing wrong," Sinclair said nonchalantly beside him. Shun shot a glare up at the Vampire Lord. "I thought you were supposed to be teaching me techniques so I don't get slaughtered out there! But all you've been doing is knocking me down for your own damn amusement!" he shouted, his anger no longer able to stay pushed down below the surface.

He narrowed his eyes and scoffed, "I'm done with this." Shun pushed himself off the dusty mat and began to walk off the training floor. He was just about to step off when Sinclair said, "Hey, Shun." The raven-haired teen turned around, ready to let the rest of his anger out. Instead, he found himself about to meet the clawed-hand of Sinclair.

Shun quickly ducked down, dodging the attack before the Vampire Lord had a chance to claw into his flesh. Sinclair continued after him, clawing and scratching at the raven-haired teen. Shun held up his hands to shield his face and chest from the onslaught, allowing his forearms to take the beating instead.

His arms stung from the scratches, and blood stained his clothes now. He couldn't keep taking the attacks forever. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another foam mat. Shun quickly reached down and picked it up, using it as a shield. Sinclair's razor-sharp nails cut through the mat and landed a scratch on Shun's face.

He took in a sharp breath as the pain hit him, but didn't let it distract him for more than a second. Sinclair drove his hand through the mat again in an attempt to grab hold of Shun's throat. But the raven-haired teen dodged and latched onto the Vampire's wrist, turning it into an unnatural position.

He heard Sinclair cry out from the other side of his mat-shield, and let go. Shun dropped the foam mat and looked at Sinclair, who was smiling. "Looks to me like you learned everything I've told you so far," he mused and stared down at the wrist that Shun had twisted.

"You used your opponent's body against them, dodged successfully, defending yourself, and used your surroundings to your advantage. And in turn, you're still alive and in one piece. You see, Shun, staying alive _is _a technique all its own, and it's a technique you'll need to use against what we're out there fighting now."

Shun realized that he was right. If he hadn't executed those things that Sinclair told him during their fight, then the Vampire Lord would have ripped him to shreds. True, Sinclair had probably been holding back some, but he had been fighting more on the level of the creatures that Shun would be going up against.

This had never been a match to see who could defeat the other, that would have been impossible. It had been a match of knowledge and reflexes.

Sinclair rotated the wrist that Shun had twisted and said, "I think that's enough for today. I wasn't really expecting you to pick up on these skills so quickly, so I'm very impressed. They just need a bit more work, and then they'll be perfect. Then, you'll be ready for your first assignment. In the meantime, Loran, why don't you go and retrieve us a couple chalices and bags of blood? I know I could use some, and I'm sure Shun wouldn't mind either."

Loran nodded and ran out of the Training Room to take care of Sinclair's request. Shun sat down on the floor that he had come to consider a friend, as many times as he had just been thrown on it, and ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah. A drink of blood does sound nice," he reluctantly admitted. Drinking blood still bothered him, but since discovering that it took the edge off the after-effects of the drug, he tolerated it a bit better. Sinclair smiled and leaned against the wall.

He then told Shun, "I'm sure you'll make a fine addition to the Clan and Blood Ring." Shun thanked him for his compliment, but couldn't help but wonder if Sinclair would say the same thing about him if he ever found out about the stolen syringes of blood, and what Shun was using them for. He feared what would happen, and decided that it would be best if his usage remained a deep, dark secret.

* * *

ugh, I'm bout to die from hunger. So, I'm off to find me something to eat. read and leave a review! ~Copperpelt~


	23. A Victim Of Temptation

_~O~_

Alucard and Sinclair led Shun to the entrance of a seemingly abandoned building. This was supposed to be the location of his first assignment. After his first match with Sinclair, the two had sparred a bit the day after, honing up on the things that the Vampire Lord had told Shun to keep in mind.

Now, he had no more time to waste. This was it, his first task as an assassin for Sinclair and his Clan. Shun's nerves were anything but calm and collected, but he had something he considered a secret weapon; a syringe of the blood mixture.

The little plastic container was burning a hole in his pocket, begging for him to use it and allow himself to slip into its control. But he couldn't just yet. He had spent all of his time prior to being taken to this location to silently tell himself Sinclair's four rules, all while also reminding himself what it was that he was supposed to do, which was kill whoever he was told to.

That was the problem though. Sinclair hadn't told him the name of whose life he was to end, much less what they looked like. If Shun didn't know these things, then what would stop him from accidentally killing the wrong person and screwing the whole thing up?

"Her name is Lucille. You'll find her inside. Oh, and a warning to you. She may be destroyed by drug-use, but don't underestimate her. She's still dangerous. Just remember the things I have told you, and you should be fine," Sinclair said calmly and handed over a small arsenal of weapons wrapped in a cloth.

Shun unwrapped them and found several Shuriken, a decent-sized knife, and a pistol. He narrowed his eyes at the gun, and as if Sinclair caught onto his sudden confusion, he said, "Use that only as a last resort. Don't want you drawing any attention to you after this. Remember, go in there, kill, and get out as quietly as possible."

Shun nodded and slipped the gun under his belt and pulled his shirt over it, hiding it from any wandering eye. He also stuck the sheathed knife in his shoe, and hooked the Shuriken to a belt loop for easy access. With each passing second, his nerves only seemed to worsen.

Even with the assurance of the syringe in his pocket, he still worried that he couldn't do this, that he wasn't ready. That it had been an idiotic thing to accept this job offer in the first place. Sinclair placed his hand on Shun's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. Alucard and I will be nearby in case things go wrong. This is you're first assignment, after all. We're not going to just throw you into it without back-up."

This eased Shun's worry a bit, but that was all. Sinclair let go of his shoulder and told him, "Go on in. She should be located downstairs. Keep your guard up, kid." He and Alucard then turned and walked off, leaving Shun to his own devices.

The raven-haired teen took in a shaky breath and stepped into the abandoned building, which appeared to have been either an apartment or small business in its previous life. Shun made his way around the room, searching for wherever the entrance to the building's basement may be.

Each step he took, the floor creaked, and he worried that it might cave in from his weight. Soon, he found himself in a kitchen. Rust and mold had taken hold over the room, turning once-pristine and white objects into haunted shells over their former selves.

But towards the back of the kitchen, where a fridge probably had gone at some point, there was a small, narrow staircase that led down into the shadows. Shun stood at the top of the stairs, looking down into the darkness that it led to.

He couldn't help but think that this was a staircase to hell. He quickly pushed those dark thoughts away and started down, being sure to carefully test each warping step by adding a little weight on it before continuing on. As he neared the base of the stairs, he began to repeat over and over in his mind Sinclair's rules, and the name of who he was here to kill. _Lucille. Lucille. Lucille. _

Shun was now faced with a door. The wood was dry and brittle, and the paint on it had chipped and cracked down the entire length. He reached out and took the old, rusted doorknob in his hands and tried to turn it, but found it locked.

He narrowed his eyes at the knob, thinking that it might have just been rusted shut, and tried to turn it with a bit more force. It wouldn't give. "Locked? Really?" he hissed under his breath. But the door being locked told him one thing; that somebody was more than likely on the other side.

He sighed and decided to try and a new approach. Shun lifted his hand and knocked on the door several times, making chipped paint fall loose and onto the floor around his feet. He felt foolish for actually knocking on the door of the person he came to kill, but he had to get in somehow, right?

The door then opened a bit, and Shun found himself being looked at by a pair of steely eyes. "Who are you?" the stranger asked. Shun quickly realized by the voice that the person at the door was a man, and really doubted that the man's name was Lucille.

"Uh…," was all that Shun could say. Sinclair hadn't told him anything about this. Then again, perhaps Sinclair didn't know about it either. What was he supposed to tell this guy at the door? That he was there to kill a girl? Shun really doubted that that would work.

"Well?" the man asked sharply, "Who are you and why are you here?" Shun was still at a loss for words. He hated to think that he would have failed his firs assignment so easily, and feared going back to Sinclair with that kind of news. But what else was he to do?

It wasn't like he was trained to deal with guards at the door. "Simon, are you bothering guests again?" a silky voice asked from out of sight. The man, Simon, stepped back, and the door opened, revealing him and a young girl standing beside him.

She looked no older than Shun, if not younger, but he quickly noticed how unhealthily thin she was; if it weren't for that, Shun would have considered her somewhat attractive. Her hair was dark brown, almost black, and dropped down just below her shoulders.

Simon told the girl, "No, I was doing no such thing. I was just seeing who was at the door." The girl shot him a mischievous smile and trailed her hands along Simon's arms. "Always so protective, but haven't you learned by now that if somebody knocks at this door, they know what this place is?" she purred and turned to look at Shun.

That smile of hers only widened at the sight of him. "Please, do come on in. There's so much fun in here," she beckoned. Shun kept his gaze advert as he entered and passed by Simon, who was trying to bore holes into the raven-haired teen with his eyes.

When he was past the guard, Shun looked up and at his surroundings. That was one of Sinclair's rules; use you surroundings to your advantage. But Shun was distracted by those very surroundings, and found himself taken aback by them. The basement was much different from the house above it. It was nicer, to say the least. Dim lights cast a reddish glow over the room.

But it was more of the inhabitants of the room that bothered Shun. People were scattered about everywhere, laying on furniture or the floor, their eyes glazed over and distant. Some of them spoke gibberish, while others laughed for no apparent reason.

It then occurred to Shun what this place was. It was one of the Drug Houses he had heard about on the news years ago. They were usually abandoned or evicted buildings that were set for demolition because they were deemed unsafe. Because of that, police and other people never entered them due to the safety hazard.

That made them perfect for a Drug House, a place were addicts could use their drugs without running the risk of being caught by the cops and arrested. How fitting it was that a person he was here to kill would be in a place like this.

The girl that had led Shun into the room stood beside him and said, "Go on. Take a load off. Everyone here is light as a feather." Shun tried to keep his composure calm and distant, but was sure he was failing. He turned to her and said, "Actually, I'm here looking for someone."

The girl narrowed her blue eyes at him, which only made Shun feel like he was underneath a microscope and was being examined at a sub-atomic level. "And who might that be?" she inquired. Shun stuffed his hands into his pockets, and his fingers brushed the plastic syringe in one of them.

His mind craved its effects so he wouldn't have to be aware of his surrounding, and of his current situation; he wanted to just melt away like everyone else in the room. But he knew better. He would only use it when he located Lucille and was ready to kill her.

That way, he ran no risk of remembering the blood that would be spilled that night. He took in a deep breath and told the girl, "Lucille. I'm looking for somebody by the name of Lucille."

A twisted smile formed on the girl's lips. "Well, you've found her. And since you're here personally looking for me, I can only assume that you're one of Sinclair's dealers here to make a delivery. Might I add, it's a bit unexpected, since he gave me no call ahead of time. But what do I care? I'm just happy he's gotten around to getting me my shipment. Please, follow me to the room in the back and you can give the delivery to me there."

She turned and vanished into a small, closet-looking room towards the back. Shun gulped and quickly fished out the syringe in his pocket. As he removed the cap, he told himself over and over again of Sinclair's rules, of his target's name, and what she looked like.

Just as he was about to stick the needle into his arm, somebody stumble into him, causing him to drop the syringe from his trembling hands. Shun's eyes locked onto it in time to witness somebody step on it, shattering the plastic. The blood mixture poured out and onto the floor, his salvation gone. Shun felt his shoulders drop as if a weight had been placed on them. What was he to do now?

He didn't want to remember anything about this night. He didn't want to recall each dazed and drugged face, or the blood that would be on his hands in a few minutes. But he couldn't just back out. Not now. Sinclair wouldn't be pleased if he showed that he wasn't able to carry out this task.

He couldn't go to his superior as a failure. Shun took in a shaky breath and headed towards the room Lucille had gone into. He would just have to deal with the demons he would gain that night. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought; Lucille was part of this Drug House, which automatically made her one of the lowest creatures in the eyes of society.

In a way, he might have been doing the world a favor by taking one less threat out of the mix. But even as he told himself that what he was doing was right, it still bothering him morally. It was _killing, _no matter how he looked at it. Shun stepped into the room that Lucille had gone into, and was surprised to find it was much bigger than a broom or storage closet; it might as well been a whole room on its own.

Towards the back, there was a bed and a sofa not too far away from that, which told Shun that Lucille more than likely lived here. And what that told him, was that she probably also owned the Drug House too. It would have explained why she had dominion over the guard, Simon, at the door.

Shun took another step into the room, and heard something crack under his foot. He looked down and saw used syringed scattered everywhere. Lucille, who was stretched out on her red sofa, smiled at him and waved a nonchalant hand.

"Ignore the mess. I haven't gotten a chance to clean up around here for a while," she informed him, as if it was really of any of his concern. The girl then narrowed her eyes and said, "Now, onto the business at hand. Money has been a little tight for me, so I have a feeling Sinclair is starting to grow impatient waiting for me to pay him. And I promise I will as soon as I can get my hands on some, but I really need that shipment of blood mixture."

Her words were pleading at the end. She no longer carried that sense of confidence that she had previous had. Now, she was begging for her next fix, for the thing that she needed to function. Shun saw her for what she really was; a poor soul that had grown addicted to Sinclair's drug.

Shun didn't pity her though. If he did, then he might have been tempted to spare her life, and he couldn't afford to do that. Lucille got off of the sofa and made her way over to Shun. She now stood only a few inches away from him, and the confidence was back in her eyes.

"Maybe I can persuade you to give me more time as I have done others sent by Sinclair," she purred and trailed a fingernail along his neck. Shun shivered under the touch and wanted to push her away, but realized that he had a perfect opening to end her life.

Discretely, he unhooked one of the Shuriken hooked on his belt loop and held it tightly in his hand. He waited for Lucille to get a bit closer to him, to ensure that he would get her in one hit. He played it over in his mind where he would stick the Shuriken. A well-placed one to the neck might sever her jugular, but if she didn't bleed out in time, then she wouldn't die.

He could embed one into her skull, but if it wasn't just right and didn't paralyze her, then it wouldn't work either. All that was left for a sure-kill was to stab her in the heart. He tightened his grip on the throwing knife, and was surprised to find how sweaty his palms were.

He tried to picture Lucille as one of the practice dummies back in the Training Room, and how easy they were to attack and fight. Then again, they weren't living, breathing creatures. She was, even though she was a wicked one. "So, what do you say? You give me some more time in return for a favor I can give you. If you decline, then I suppose I could leave Sinclair's business and go over to this Alexander guy's. I've heard some amazing things about his little drug," she crooned and shuddered with pleasure at the thought of what she so highly-sought.

Shun narrowed his eyes down at her and said, "I'm afraid Sinclair's given you enough time. He wants payment….Now." He then lifted up the Shuriken and drove it right where Lucille's heart was, but noticed something; the throwing knife didn't pierce her flesh.

Shun jumped back and stared in shock at the bent blade of the knife. He then shot his attention back to Lucille, and found her laughing. Her laugh then faded, and her expression turned serious and cold. She then lifted up the bottom of her shirt, revealing a bullet-proof vest that covered all of her chest.

She said harshly, "I knew it was only a matter of time before Sinclair sent a damn assassin for me. That's why I played it on the safe side. I guess I should consider myself lucky that you weren't Slay. He would have torn my throat out with his own claws, but I heard what happened to him. Looks like you're what Sinclair got to replace Slay. What a laugh."

The dim lights hanging above them started to flicker, plunging the room into light and darkness in a consistent pattern. Shun looked from the lights to Lucille. Her eyes were blazing red with anger, and her mouth had torn back into a savage snarl.

Any good-looks she had had beforehand, had flown out the window. Now, they were replaced by a monster. A Vampire. "I'm going to enjoy the satisfaction of ripping Sinclair's little assassin apart, limb from limb," she snarled, her voice oozing with poison.

Lucille, or what used to be Lucille, lunged at Shun. She pinned him down on the floor, her hands holding tightly to his wrists, and her knees keeping his legs immobile. She tossed her hair out from her face and said, "What a shame. You're actually pretty good-looking. It almost pains me to have to kill you…..Almost."

Lucille smiled a wicked smile, baring her fangs that had formed. Shun struggled beneath her weight, but for somebody that was so thin and small, Lucille was extremely strong. Sinclair's warning about her being dangerous rang throughout his head.

The Vampire Lord hadn't been exaggerating with that statement. The girl lowered her face near Shun's and whispered to him, "I wonder what your blood tastes like. I can smell that you're a Turned Vamp, and that it's the legendary Sinclair's blood flowing in your veins. I'm sure it's deliciously rich."

She reared back, ready to sink her fangs into his shoulder. Shun had to act quick, or else he was about to be killed via blood-loss. One of Sinclair's rules then popped into his mind; use your opponent's body against them. Just as Lucille was about to bite down, Shun quickly moved his head to side, causing the girl to bite down into the old wood floor instead.

She cried out and jumped back. Shun used this moment to throw her off of him and got back up to his feet. Lucille shot him a murderous glare while holding onto her bleeding nose, which had more than likely broken when she took a header into the floor.

Shun grinned, feeling rather pleased that somebody other than him was taking a beating from the ground for once. He then pushed away his triumphant and started to focus on how he would kill her. Lucille's chest was guarded by a bullet-proof vest, so stabbing or shooting her were both out of the question.

But that didn't mean that her skull was protected. Shun decided to focus his attacks there. He unhooked several Shuriken from his belt loop and threw them. Lucille ducked behind the sofa, but not fast enough before one of the throwing knives left a gash in her arm.

She cried out and quickly began to lick the wound on her arm to speed up its healing. Shun reached down for more of the throwing knives, but realized that he had no more. He growled and reached down into his shoe for the knife that had been added into his arsenal.

Now, he would have to get into close quarters with Lucille if he planned on killing her. She suddenly lunged out from behind the sofa, but Shun was ready. He dodged out of the way, causing her to go crashing into the side of a coffee table.

For a moment, he thought he heard several of her ribs crack, and he hoped they had, for that would help slow her down. He then took advantage of her disoriented state, and was now the one to pin her down on the floor. They both were panting from the fight, and both of them had blood caking their clothes and faces.

Shun pressed the blade of the knife to Lucille's throat, putting enough pressure to draw a thin line of blood. The sight of the crimson liquid made Shun's skin crawl when he thought of the syringe of blood that would have helped make him forget all of this. But it was too late for that.

Lucille was at his mercy, and he would have to kill her and retain all of the memories and nightmares that might come with it. The girl started to laugh. "Go on. Kill me if you have it in you to. Like it'll bother me if I die…..If anything, it will provide me relief…," she said, her voice less hostile towards the end as it trailed off.

"What are you talking about?" Shun snapped at her. He wasn't going to fall victim to any mind games she might be playing with him.

Lucille smiled and told him, "Do you know what it's like to be victim of that drug? How you need it in order to just get up in the morning? How it becomes a master that rules over your life? If you don't have it, you do horrible things to get it. You lose yourself because of it. Do you know what it's like? Probably not. But death will take me from all that. I won't have to worry about trying to find my next fix, or being in debt to Sinclair anymore. He'll have the blood I took from him back, and he'll be happy. We'll all be happy. So, kill me! Put an end to my miserable life!"

She was crying now, the heavy eyeliner around her eyes running down her face and mingling with the bloodstains. Shun didn't make a move; he just kind of stared off into space. It was Lucille's shouts that brought him out of his trance.

"Do it! Kill me!" she screamed, and Shun reacted. He buried the blade of the knife into her throat, ceasing her screams and demands for death. A sick gurgling sound rose from the gash as blood bubbled up. Lucille coughed, and a thin line of blood trailed down the corner of her mouth.

In a matter of seconds, her eyes lost their light and closed forever. Shun sat back and stared at her motionless body. He had done it. He had killed her. Shun was sure he would have felt sick at the realization that he was now a killer, but he felt fine. A bit shocked, but fine.

Maybe it was because by ending her life, he also ended her suffering. He couldn't help but think that Lucille might have been a good person before her addiction, before the drugs ruined her life and made her into what she was before him. Shun knew he would have probably been looked down upon for humanizing somebody like Lucille, but he didn't care.

He stood up and wiped the blade of the knife clean on the back of the red sofa. The blood blended in perfectly. He then tucked the knife back into his shoe and was about to leave, when his eyes caught sight of a small, orange-capped syringe on the floor near the smashed remains of the coffee table.

It had probably been there and fallen off when Lucille fell onto it. Shun reached down and picked up the syringe, then glanced down at the dead Vampire's body. The contents of this little plastic syringe was enough to ruin an entire life, and you'd think that that would have been enough to deter Shun from the path he had started down in an attempt to forget these kinds of horrors.

But it wasn't. Both his mind and body craved to take an edge off the stress that was mounting inside of him, to escape, not forget. He took off the orange cap and stared longingly at the silver needle that would provide him this escape. Shun then drove the syringe into his arm and pushed down on the plunger.

* * *

i was listening to Fallout Boy's song My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up), and it really fit pretty well with this chapter, in my opinion. Then again, what do I know. :p read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	24. Starting Down The Wrong Path

_~O~_

Alucard shifted uneasily beside Sinclair. He turned and said, "He's been in there for a while. Should we step in, Sir?" Sinclair folded his arms over his chest and said, "No, let's wait a little bit longer and see if he finishes up." Alucard simply nodded; there was nothing else he could do, after all.

The two Vampires were standing on the roof of a nearby building and had a clear view of the seemingly abandoned building that housed their target, Lucille. They had been standing up there for a little over an hour, and were approached two hours now. "You think he's got the situation under control?" Alucard asked in an attempt to make time go by faster.

Sinclair shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps. We'll know for sure sooner or later, though," he replied. Alucard returned his gaze down to the building below them. He couldn't help but think that Shun might have had a bit of trouble with Lucille.

Their target was known to be a fighter, and a strong one at that. On top of that, she had other _ways _to get what she wanted and to slip past any trouble; that was how she had gotten away with missing so many payments for the blood mixtures she had purchased from Sinclair.

Alucard sighed and sat down on the roof to relieve his feet from the weight that had been placed on them during all of their standing. Sinclair didn't bother to even sit down beside him. The Vampire Lord just continued to stand there, keeping his gaze locked onto the building as he awaited to see the night's results.

Alucard knew how important this was to him; whether Shun was successful or not would determine if the Turned Vampire would be of any use to them if their fight against Alexander. If the teen had failed, then it would be apparent that he wasn't fit to fight, and would possibly only hold them back.

It would also leave the Clan without an assassin to fight alongside with, and a good assassin could make or break them in a conflict. There was a lot riding on this mundane mission, and that worried Alucard.

It made him think that they might have wasted their time training Shun and going through all of this, rather than looking around the city for an assassin that had been around for a while and was well-trained in his field.

But Alucard knew that Sinclair was slow to trust Vampires from outside of the Clan, and that recruiting an assassin that wasn't a part of their inner circle would mean that the Vampire Lord would waste more time trying to determine if he could put his trust into the stranger.

Sinclair's eyes suddenly widened a bit. "There he is. I see him," he said with a victorious smile. Alucard quickly jumped up to his feet and looked down into the neighboring alleyway beside the targeted building, where they spotted Shun leaving out of a back entrance. The two Vampires quickly exchanged a look at one another, then jumped down into the street below.

_~O~_

Shun woke up and found himself laying on the floor. His clothes were soaked with blood, and it took him a moment to realize that he been laying in a pool of crimson liquid that had once belonged to Lucille. Her body still laid where it had been when he slit her throat and ended her wicked life, but her face no longer held the eternal beauty it had when he first saw her.

Now, her skin had started to dry out, and deep wrinkles looked like claw marks on her face. She looked as if she were hundreds of years old, and perhaps she was. But now that she was dead, the creature that truly hid within her was starting to rise to the surface and reveal itself to the world. A true monster.

Shun shook those thoughts away and held onto the side of his head. Each beat of his pulse seemed to magnify itself as it ran through his skull. He ran a hand through his hair, which was matted with Lucille's blood.

His stomach did a small flip at this realization that he had literally swam in the blood of somebody that he had killed, but he pushed his nausea out of his mind and got up to his feet. His balance wavered a bit, causing him to hold onto the back of the red sofa for balance.

The room around him tilted side to side a bit, but finally came back into focus after a little while. These waves of nausea and vertigo made Shun worry. He hadn't felt this bad after injecting himself with the blood mixture. The most he would have afterward was a bit of a headache and dizziness, but the after-effects this time seemed to be a bit stronger.

Shun glanced down onto the floor at the empty syringe. It occurred to him that what he injected himself with hadn't been directly from the storage room back in the enclave. It had been something Lucille had had laying around, and after Shun killed her, he had decided to use for himself.

So, there was a good possibility that whatever had been in that syringe, wasn't something concocted by Sinclair. Perhaps she had added something else into it to give it some extra strength. Or, it might not have even been a mixture from Sinclair's Blood Ring. _Alexander, _Shun thought to himself.

He had been told that the blood mixture that Alexander created was much more powerful than that of Sinclair's, so it made sense that the after-effects would also be more powerful. But Shun had been cleansed of the stronger mixture when he had been forcedly injected with it, so he had no knowledge of how he would have felt afterwards.

His gaze fell down to his hands, which were trembling slightly as they held onto the back of the sofa. It was very possible that Lucille had a syringe of Alexander's drug laying around, waiting to be used as a last resort if she couldn't talk her way out of making another payment to Sinclair; she _had _threatened to start using Alexander's business, after all.

Shun let go of the sofa and started to make his way out of the room. He didn't know how long he had been out, and was sure that Sinclair and Alucard probably thought he was dead at this point. Shun then looked down at himself and realized that there was no way he could just walk out the way he came in.

He was soaked with blood, and was positive that Simon, the guard at the door, would notice and deny him exit. And the last thing Shun wanted was to get involved in another altercation that night. He began to look around to the room in hopes that he could find another way out.

After a bit of searching, he found a small window that was level with the ground above the basement hideaway. It looked just big enough for him to squeeze through without any trouble. He started towards the window, but stopped short when he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror.

Blood covered not just his clothes, but also his face. But the dried crimson wasn't enough to hide the dark circles that encased his distant eyes. He shook his head, forcing himself to tear his gaze away from his reflection, and went back to what he was doing before the distraction.

Shun stood up on a small side-table beneath the window to help give him a boost up, and unlocked the rusted latches. Dust of corroded metal fell lose as the window opened after years of not being used. Spider-webs that hung up in the corners also fell and broke as their foundation was moved unexpectedly.

With the window opened to its fullest extent, Shun climbed on through, grabbing onto the ground to help pull himself out. Once through, he laid on the filthy ground of an alleyway for a moment to rest. If it weren't for the urgent need to get back to Sinclair, he would have entertained the idea of laying there and falling asleep; that was just how exhausted he was.

But he pushed his fatigue away and got back onto his feet, and slowly made his way out of the alley. When he walked into the open, Shun leaned against the wall of the neighboring building to catch his breath just as two figures dropped down from above; Sinclair and Alucard.

The two Vampires ran up to him, their eyes eager to know what had happened when they sent him off to kill Lucille. The Vampire Lord was the first to reach him. "Well? How did it go? Was the mission successful?" he asked anxiously.

Shun straightened up a bit to try and play off his fatigue and said, "Yes, Sir. It was a success. Lucille has paid back the blood she has taken from you." Sinclair's face lit up at these words. "I knew you'd do fine and that I had made a good choice in asking you to take on this role," he beamed.

Shun faked a proud smile and slumped back against the brick wall behind him. His pulse still felt like it was racing and pounding in his ears enough to make his head explode. Alucard, who had been smiling at the news of the successful mission, finally noticed Shun's distress, and his smile faded.

"Are you okay? Lucille didn't badly injure you, did she?" he asked and glanced him over. Shun shook his head and told the Vampire, "No….No, I'm fine….The fight just took a lot out of me is all….Nothing to worry about." He wasn't going to admit that he was suffering from the after-effects of a drug; that would look bad of his part, especially after he had just proven his worth.

Sinclair was pacing around back and forth, giving some grand speech about how now Alexander wouldn't know what was about to hit him, and how the Vampire Lord knew his instincts wouldn't let him down; neither Shun or Alucard were paying him any attention. The second-in-command shook his head at Sinclair's constant babble and turned back to face Shun.

He placed a hand on the teen's shoulder and told him, "When you get back to the enclave you'll be able to clean up and get plenty of rest. It probably wouldn't hurt you to drink some blood when you get back, either. And don't worry, you shouldn't have another assignment for a little while."

Shun nodded and felt a sense of relief in the thought of the blood. He had discovered that when drinking blood, it took off some of the edge of the after-effects from the mixture. But he wondered now if it would take any of the edge away from this stronger mixture he had injected himself with.

Regardless, he was going to try if it meant curing himself of the insufferable headache he was going through, along with the nausea that had followed. Alucard narrowed his eyes at Shun, and for a moment, the raven-haired teen wondered if the Vampire had suddenly realized that he was lying about his condition being from the fight.

But Alucard then turned away to face Sinclair. "Sir, I think we better start back to the enclave. Shun needs his rest and it will be sunrise soon," he informed the Vampire Lord. Sinclair, who had still been in the process of his little speech, stopped his pacing and quickly regained his calm composure.

He cleared his throat and said, "Ah, yes. Good call, Alucard. Let's head back, shall we?" The second-in-command nodded and glanced back at Shun, then told him, "If you need to take a break, don't be afraid to say so. We know you went through a lot tonight."

Shun nodded to let Alucard know that he understood, but doubted he would ask to stop. He wanted to get back to the enclave and get some blood into his system to help speed up his recovery from the drug that still seemed to be coursing through his veins.

As they walked back, Shun thought about Lucille, and how she had admitted that the drug had destroyed her life, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had somehow started on that same path.

* * *

sorry for not uploading yesterday. I went fishing with my dad, and got a nice, bright red sunburn on my shoulders. -.- and it doesn't help that i'm super pale, so now i look like i'm glowing or something. anyway, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	25. Dreaming

_~O~_

Shun had gone to his room once arriving back to the enclave and fixing a chalice of blood, which he hardly drank any from. He probably should have, though; it would have helped with the after-effects that were still bothering him. But he was just too tired at the moment, and wanted nothing else but to lay down for a bit and rest.

He almost didn't even feel like washing the dried blood off of him, but decided that it would be in his best interest, since he had no idea how pleased Sinclair would be if he discovered the sheets were ruined by the blood. So, Shun stepped into his bathroom and turned on the shower till steam started to rise up towards the ceiling.

He stepped inside and washed the matted blood out of his hair. As the water ran down the drain, faint red ribbons flowed with it. Eventually, the water turned completely clear, which told Shun that all of the blood had been washed off of him.

He turned the water and stepped out, where he wrapped himself up in a towel that was hanging on a bar attached to the wall. He then went towards the sink, where he had placed a clean change of clothes on the marble counter.

Shun slipped into the clean clothes and took the towel he had wrapped himself up in, and dried his damp hair with it. He had to admit, now that he was clean and in fresh clothes, he felt a bit better. Although, it didn't do much for the headache and nausea that still plagued him and seemed like it wasn't planning on letting up anytime soon.

When Shun got his hair dry enough to where he could live with the damp ends touching his shoulders, he stepped out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. The chalice of blood that he had fixed himself rested on a dresser beside the bed, still virtually untouched. He glanced over at it, knowing that it would help ease up some of his aches and pain, but didn't believe he would be at to stomach it at the moment.

So, he left it be and went over to his bed. "I just need to sleep it off, then I should be fine," he said to himself and he pulled the blankets back and laid down. Almost instantly, he fell asleep and went into a dream. Shun found himself standing in a deserted street somewhere in the city.

A large, silver moon hung in the air above him, helping to illuminate the shadows cast by the streetlights. But something didn't seem right. Despite the apparent late hour, there wasn't a single car on the streets; even past midnight there was usually traffic.

Curious to find out what was going on, Shun started on down the silent road, glancing into the windows of businesses to see if there might be somebody working late inside one of them. There wasn't anybody. A feeling of unease started to form in the pit of his stomach, but instead of turning back, he kept going.

After a bit of walking, he came to a park. A light breeze blew past, causing rusted swings to move and let out high-pitched squeaks. The sound made Shun's skin crawl and he was about to leave the park behind, when a familiar smell hit him.

It was a coppery scent, one that he had come to know very well as of late; blood. He could feel his canine teeth sharpening into fangs out of natural instinct to the scent, but he ignored it. Shun felt a small wave of panic wash over him. Where was the source of the blood that he smelled?

He sniffed the air and quickly identified the general direction that the wind carried it from, and hurried that way. It took him towards the center of the park, where he found a dark figure hunched over what appeared to be another person.

The stench of blood grew more powerful the closer Shun got to the two figures, and he knew that this had to have been the source. Cautiously, Shun approached them. He didn't know if they were injured or what, so he kept his guard up to remain ready for whatever was about to face him.

"Hello?" he asked and took several more steps. Now that he was closer, he could make out the scene a bit more clearly. The source of the blood was a body that was laying on the ground beside the hunched figure. Shun could just barely make out that the throat of the person had been torn out.

He gulped and called out again, "Hello? What happened?" He saw the dark figure that had been hunched over the dead body tense up, as if just realizing that Shun was there. The figure then turned to look at the raven-haired teen, and Shun felt his eyes widen. The figure was him.

He was looking at himself. Shun stumbled back and fell onto the ground. He stared at the sight before him in horror, then shifted his gaze down to the body that laid on the ground. The moon must have gotten brighter, or Shun's eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, but he was able to see whose throat he had ripped out, and he wished he hadn't. _Alice. _

Shun couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze from her lifeless body, from the distant look in her brown eyes as they gazed up at the sky, or the savage hole in her throat. He brought his hand up to his mouth and felt as though he might be sick.

The figure, who was Shun himself, turned to face him. There was a crazed, almost feral look in his eyes, and it didn't help that blood covered his face, mouth, and hands. The nightmare in front of Shun snarled at the raven-haired teen and ran at him.

Shun cried out and scrambled up to his feet to run away before his own throat was torn out by himself. Just as he felt razor-sharp claws graze at his back, Shun jolted awake and practically leapt from his bed. He ran from his room and down the halls until he reached the main room, where he opened the doors that led him outside.

_I need air. I need air. _Once the doors were open enough for him to get through, he barreled outside and landed on the ground, where he didn't even try to stop himself from throwing up. When he was sure he was done and had nothing else to expel from his body, Shun forced himself to get up to his feet.

His hands and legs were trembling either from getting sick, or from the images that still hung in the back of his mind from the dream, possibly a mixture of the two. He needed to walk this off, to try and calm himself down and tell himself that it was just a dream, a horrible dream.

He wrapped his arms around himself and stepped away from the enclave and towards the trees that surrounded and hid the enclave. Out in the distance, he could see the sun trying to peer over the horizon as morning took its rightful throne from the night.

Shun made sure to stick close to the shadows so he wouldn't get burned from the sun's rays later as it rose higher in the sky. He stopped and leaned against a tree. His breath was ragged from his frantic run from the enclave. The headache he had also tried to sleep off also hadn't eased up the least bit.

If anything, it might have gotten worse. He ran a hand through his hair, which was still slightly damp from the shower he took before going to bed. Shun slid down and sat at the base of the tree he had leaned against. Even though he knew that there was nothing left in his stomach, he still felt as if he might be sick.

"It was just a dream…It was just a dream," he whispered to calm himself down. _But it felt so real, _he thought grimly. He could still smell Alice's blood as if it were right in front of him again, and he could still feel the grazing of claws on his back, even though there was nothing there.

His headache started to worsen even more as he sat there, and it occurred to him that it might not be entirely from the after-effects, that it might have been his body's way of demanding more of the drug by causing him pain until he gave into its needs.

Shun held on tightly to the sides of his head, brought his knees up to his chest, and rested his forehead on them. Between the dream still affected him, and the way his body was trying to rebel against him for more of the blood mixture, he felt as though he might end up losing it.

Shun shook his head. He _had _to do something to stop this, because he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to put up with it. And the only answer he came up with that could solve at least one of his problems, was to go back into the supply room and take more of the blood mixture to quell his body's demands.

The sun then rose a bit higher and tried to cut through the leaves of the trees that were shielding Shun from its rays. He bit down on his lower lip.

The other Vampires would be sound asleep by now, which gave him an advantage to go through the halls of the enclave without being questioned. It would be just as easy as when he took that first syringe of the blood mixture from the storage room. With his foggy mind made up, Shun headed back to the enclave.

_~O~_

Alice woke with a start and immediately brought her hand up to her throat. It felt as if something had put force there, like a hand choking her or something like that. She glanced around her room at Marucho's. There wasn't anything inside of the room, and nothing seemed to be out of place.

Alice relaxed a bit now that she knew that it had just been her mind playing tricks on her. She sat up in her bed for a little bit as she finished waking up. As she sat there, she couldn't help but feel that she had dreamt about something last night that bothered her, but she couldn't remember anything other than she had been terrified.

She growled in aggravation at not being able to remember the dream; she wanted to know what had scared her so badly. Maybe she had dreamed that she had been attacked by the killers in the city that still remained at large. Alice shuddered.

The killings had only gotten worse with the passing days, and there had even been some reports of them breaking into people's houses now and killing them in their own beds. Every day was starting to make Alice feel less and less safe, not only just for herself, but also for her friends, and especially Shun.

He was still out there somewhere. She and the others had remained in contact with Shun's grandfather since Shun' sudden reappearance and strange story. And since that day, he hadn't gone back to his grandfather's house, or to Marucho's either.

Alice was starting to grow worried again that he might have been caught by the killers that roamed out in the city at night, killing people and draining them of their blood like savages. But Alice kept holding onto the hope that he would resurface and come back to Marucho's, where she and the others would confront him and demand the truth about what had really happened to him.

Alice sighed and climbed out of her bed. She walked over to her window and pulled back the curtains to let the light in; it had come to seem like the daytime and light meant safety from the killings. There hadn't been a single report of a murder in the daytime, so far.

That didn't mean that they wouldn't start. At first, the killers hadn't gone into people's house. Now, they broke into them as if they were nothing.

"I just want things to go back to normal," she whispered to herself and wiped away a tear that had suddenly formed in her eyes. She shook her head and stepped away from the window so she could get ready for another day, one filled with uncertainty and fear, as always.

* * *

_Chapter title based off the song Dreaming by Dead By April. _I'm not sure if i've used that song before (i probably have), but if i have, then i'm using it again. It's still a good song, nonetheless. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	26. Hooked

_~O~_

Shun made his way through the hallways of the enclave until he reached the solid steel door of the storage room that contained the blood mixtures. He stared down at the padlock on the door and bit down on his lip. He couldn't break the lock.

If he did, then that would certainly raise suspicions and drive the others in the Clan to figure out who had broken into the storage room. Shun would have to find the key to the lock, and the only place he could think that it could be, was Sinclair's study.

He left the door and started back through the hallways, which he had quickly come to know and memorize in his short time in the enclave. Within a matter of minutes, Shun was now standing in front of the door to Sinclair's study. Since it was morning, nobody would be inside, so he ran no risk of being spotted.

He reached out and turned the doorknob to the door; thankfully, it was unlocked. It figured that the Vampire Lord trusted his fellow Clan members enough not to lock his own study. Then again, Shun doubted that anyone within the Clan was crazy enough to sneak into the study without being summoned by Sinclair himself.

Shun shook the thoughts away and stepped into the room. It was pitch black inside, but that wasn't a challenge for his enhanced vision. He could see fairly well in the room, but nowhere near as good as he would have been able to see if the torches had been lit.

Shun closed the door behind him and decided to begin his search for the key in Sinclair's desk. He walked around to the side of the desk the Vampire Lord sat behind, and sat down in the fancy, swivel office chair. Despite sitting the Clan leader's chair, he didn't absorb any sense of power from it; all it did was make him realize how insanely stupid this was, and how much trouble he would be in if caught. But he needed that key.

He needed to get into that storage room and take what his body so desperately needed to function normally now. Shun started pulling open drawers and sifting through the contents inside. He moved papers, pens, and all other kinds of office supplies out of the way in search of the key, or anything that remotely resembled a key.

When he got to the last drawer to search through, he was seriously beginning to doubt that the key was in there. But he wouldn't know unless he looked inside. Shun pulled the handle and slid the drawer out. Stacked nearly to the top, were papers and folders.

If there was one thing he had found in his desperate search, it was that Sinclair had an insane amount of paperwork; although, Shun couldn't figure out what in the world the Vampire Lord would have paperwork for. The raven-haired teen shook himself back into focus and lifted up the stacks of folders, thinking that the key might be hidden somewhere on the bottom.

He then noticed something. The bottom of the drawer was higher than it should have been, making it smaller. This raised a red flag, and Shun quickly pulled all of the papers and folders out to gain access to the bottom of the drawer. He knocked on the plywood surface with his knuckles, and it made a hollow sound.

Shun found himself grinning with triumph. This drawer had a false-bottom. He worked his fingers underneath the sides of the fake drawer and lifted the piece of wood. Sure enough, there was a secret compartment there, with a single, metal box resting in the center. Shun picked it up and set in one the desk.

There was no locking mechanism or code to put into the box; it was simply a metal box. He pushed on the latch and folded the lid back to look inside. There were several rolls of hundred dollar bills, and Shun could only guess that this was a fraction of the Vampire Lord's wealth.

But the money was of no concern to Shun. It wasn't what he was looking for. He pulled the rolled bills out and got to the bottom of the small box. He smiled. Laying there at the bottom of the box, was a small key. Shun reached in and took the key out, examining it in the darkness that he could see through.

The key had to hold some importance, or else the Vampire Lord wouldn't have gone through such trouble to hide it in a false-bottomed drawer. Shun quickly began to put the rolled money back into the box the way he had found it, then put the box back into the drawer he had found it in.

And once the false-bottom was put back in, and all of the papers and folders returned to their original positions, Shun closed the drawer, snatched up the key, and hurried out of Sinclair's study. He knew he would have to put the key back as soon as he took what he needed from the storage room, or else Sinclair might discover that it was missing.

Shun ran through the main room and was about to veer off down the hallway that would take him to the storage room, when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He halted and turned to see that Zoran was lurking about in the shadows.

Shun had completely forgotten that Zoran didn't sleep during the day like the other Vampires. Suddenly, the raven-haired teen started to grow worried. Had Zoran seen him sneak into Sinclair's office and take the key? Shun his heart speed up as his anxiety mounted.

He tucked the key into his pocket so it would stop burning a hole into his hand. "Hey, Zoran," Shun tried to say calmly and as normally as possible. But his nerves were getting the better of him, and he knew even a small child could be able to tell that he was up to no good and had done something bad.

Zoran narrowed his one good eye at Shun, then scowled. "Monsters….They make me sick," he said harshly. Shun flinched back at the poison that was suddenly dripping from the Vampire's voice. This wasn't how he remembered his first talk with Zoran.

Shun recalled how the young Vampire had been practically on the verge of a breakdown, or something along those lines. The raven-haired teen placed his hand on where the key rested in his pocket and said, "Is….Is everything alright, Zoran?"

Shun was starting to get a growing suspicion that Zoran knew, that the Vampire had caught him in the act. This possibility made Shun want to hurry up and get far away and make himself scarce. Zoran further narrowed his one good eye and said, "I like watching monsters destroy themselves, so I'm not going to say a word to anyone about you."

He then turned on his heels and stalked down the hallway Shun had just come from after getting a hold of the key. Shun felt his eyes widen. Zoran knew. He had seen Shun and knew what he had just done. But the Vampire wasn't going to tell anyone. No.

He was just going to stand by and hide in the shadows and watch Shun destroy himself. Although, this promise of keeping this dark secret safe didn't provide him with any solace. It only made him feel worse. But it wasn't like Shun could help it now.

If he didn't keep giving his body what it ached for, then it would only turn against him and cause him even more pain. And Shun didn't want that. He didn't want to be a victim of the pain caused by the absence of the drug in his blood.

It was hard enough to deal with the after-effects from using; he didn't even want to think about how horrible he would feel if he didn't use for a couple of days. The sheer thought made him cringe and nearly brought tears to his eyes. He had done this to himself, and he was going get through it on his own.

He had no one to blame but himself. Shun let out a heavy sigh and returned his focus to his task at hand. He removed the key from his pocket and stared down at it. Shun knew once he unlocked that door and took what he needed, that would be his life from there on out.

And despite knowing the end result would be his life in possible ruins, it didn't deter him. He _needed _the drug to keep himself on his feet, to keep himself from suffering through endless pain that would never be quelled without it. Shun tightened his hand around the key and hurried down the hallway that would take him to the storage room.

When he got to his destination, he slid the key into the lock and turned it. The latch popped up, and he removed the padlock to get the door open. A wave of cool air rushed past him as he pulled opened the heavy door. Shun stepped inside and was faced with the boxes and Zip-Lock bags filled with blood mixtures.

He would have to take what he felt would be adequate enough for his needs for a while. He didn't want to take too much and run a risk of some of it going bad and spoiling; that would have been a waste. Unless he could find another way to keep the syringes cool, while hidden at the same time.

The only answer that came to his mind was a mini fridge, but that might raise some eyebrows and draw attention to it, and that was the last thing Shun needed. So, he decided to take one of the smaller Zip-Lock bags. Not only would its disappearance not be noticed, but it also would more than likely be used before the blood mixtures went bad.

But that would also mean that Shun would have to break into the storage room again for more. He heaved a heavy sigh, his breath coming out in a little wisp in the cool air. This would be his life now until it ruined it beyond repair. And when that happened, he would more than likely end up begging for his own death like Lucille had done that night he killed her.

Shun tightened his grip on the bag of filled-syringes. The need to live without the pain and suffering, the need to feel good, outweighed the definite end results of the constant using. Shun tucked the Zip-Lock of syringes under his arm and left out of the storage room, making sure to lock it back like it had been.

He then made a bee-line back to Sinclair's study to return the key before the Vampire Lord noticed its absence. When he was done with that, Shun rushed back to his room and locked the door behind him. The raven-haired teen leaned against the back of the door, and slid down to its base and sat on the floor.

He took the bag of syringes out from under his arm and stared at them for a while, knowing good and well that they were nothing but crimson evil. Crimson evil that he needed to be able to just to face each day now. Shun still couldn't figure out how it had escalated to this so quickly.

It wasn't like he had wanted this, but it had happened anyway. _Bad things happen to good people, _he thought grimly to himself. With that thought, his mind instantly went back to when it was explained to him why his blood hadn't been drained for profit.

It had been because he had Bad Blood, according to Loran, and that it was nothing more than the blood of somebody with a good nature, a good personality, and so forth; the only reason it had been called Bad was because none of the Blood Ring's clients had a taste for it.

Now, as Shun took out one of the blood-filled syringes, he couldn't help but wonder if his blood was still considered Bad. Maybe by this time, his blood had been tainted enough to turn it Good. Shun didn't want to think about it anymore, and stuck the hair-thin needle into his arm.

* * *

Oh, boy, you all have no idea how lucky you guys are that you're not around me right now. I'm singing Bon Jovi's It's My Life, and might I point out, I sound like a dying whale when I sing. o.o" In other news, I had entered a book giveaway contest and won a book that entered for! XD I'm so excited and can't wait to get it! It's called Solstice by JP Hoover, I think. It seems really cool, and I'm super excited to get an advanced copy before it hits the shelves. X3 Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	27. Preparations

_~O~_

Shun woke up when he heard the sound of knocking. He found himself laying on the floor near where he had sat down earlier after stealing the syringes. As he sat up, his bones popped from laying still on the hard floor for an extended length of time. The knocking returned to the door, followed by Loran's voice.

"Shun? Are you awake? Shun?" he asked and knocked again. Shun groaned as he got up to his feet. He was about to go to the door and open it, when he remembered the bag of syringes. They were laying on the floor, near where he had woken up. He couldn't let Loran see them.

If he did, then it would be just as good as admitting all of this himself. Shun picked up the bag and walked over to his bed. "In a minute," he called to Loran in case the Vampire grew tired of waiting at the door and decided to waltz in without an answer.

Shun tucked the bag of syringes underneath the mattress; perhaps they would stay cool enough to keep from turning rancid under there. After he made sure that they wouldn't be noticed by wandering eyes, Shun made his way over to the door. Loran jumped in surprise, obviously not expecting when the door would open.

He then shook his head and told Shun, "Sorry if I woke you, but Sinclair's called a meeting in the main room, and he wants everyone there." Shun nodded and said tiredly, "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes. Let me get ready." He was about to close to door, but Loran's hand caught it.

Shun stared at him in surprise. The Vampire narrowed his gray eyes at Shun and asked, "Are you feeling okay? You don't look like you feel well." Shun felt his nerves starting to act up. What if Loran was able to notice his strange behavior?

He had a feeling that just because Zoran wasn't going to say anything to Sinclair, didn't mean that Loran would keep quiet as well. He knew about Loran's caring disposition, and that it would be second nature for the young Vampire to run to Sinclair and tell if it meant getting somebody help.

Shun ran a hand through his hair and tried to remain as calm and nonchalant as he could. "I feel fine, but I guess it is possible I might be coming down with something," he said flatly, but even he could detect the bit of hesitation that was in his voice. And Shun knew if he could detect it, then so could Loran.

But if the Vampire did notice, then he was choosing not to say anything. Instead, he turned around and said, "Okay, then. The meeting is in ten minutes. Get ready and be in the main room on time." Shun nodded and retreated back into his room.

The moment the door was closed, he felt his nerves plummet as they relaxed, and they left him feeling even more drained than he already did. How long would he be able to put up with this before he cracked? This was only a couple of days so far, and he felt like he was already losing control over things; he couldn't even imagine long-term stress and worry of being caught.

Shun shook his head and walked over to a dresser to get out a clean shirt, seeing as the one he had on was filthy from his little nap on the floor. He opted for just a plain black short sleeve, rather than some of the fancier shirts that he had been given upon his official arrival in the Clan.

A feeling of guilt knotted up in his stomach. Everyone in the Clan had pretty much accepted him in with open arms, and how was he repaying them? By stealing from them and lying? They were treating him like family, even though he still might as well been a stranger to them.

It pained Shun and almost made him hate himself. He sighed and slipped into the fresh shirt, then decided to wash his face off as well. He stepped into the bathroom and turned the sink on. Warm water started to pour out of the faucet. Shun cupped his hands and caught some of the water in them, then splashed it onto his face. Almost immediately, the water worked its magic and made him a bit more alert.

After a few more splashes, even though still a little out of it, he felt as if he would be alert enough to attend Sinclair's meeting. He grabbed a hand-towel and dried the water from his face and the ends of his hair. Shun then glanced up at himself in the mirror.

His face was pale, and his eyes, once bright and lively, seemed like they had lost some of their luster; the dark circles around them weren't helping that much, either. He straightened up a bit and came to the conclusion if anyone asked his about his appearance, he would just tell them that it had been a long week.

That he had been stressed with all of the training for his first assignment, that he hadn't gotten around to drinking adequate enough blood. That could be believable, right? He took in a shaky sigh and left out of the bathroom to start towards the meeting before he was late.

When Shun reached the main room, he was surprised to find it nearly filled to the max with Vampires, many of which he hadn't even seen or met yet. Some of the faces in the crowd he recognized from the Training Room and from passing in the hallways, but he didn't really know any of their names.

_I had no idea there were this many Vampires in the Clan, _Shun thought to himself as he found a place to stand among everyone else. In the center of the room, he caught sight of Sinclair and Alucard. The two appeared to be mumbling something confidential to each other, perhaps discussing last minute ideas before the meeting, or just making small-talk.

On the other side of the crowd, just behind Sinclair and Alucard, Shun found Loran. The gray-haired Vampire saw him in return, smiled kindly, and gave Shun a thumbs-up for making the meeting in time. Shun smiled back, then began to scan the crowd for Zoran.

Loran had told him that _everyone _was to attend this meeting. It was possible that Zoran might have received some special treatment, seeing as how he didn't like being around the other Vampires, or being awake late at night. But much to Shun's surprise, he found Zoran towards the far back of the main room, hiding in the usual shadows that he hid in during the day.

The raven-haired teen tensed up a bit. Even though Zoran had admitted that he wasn't going to tell anyone about what Shun had done earlier in the day, he still couldn't help but grow worried and paranoid. What if Zoran changed his mind and decided to call him out right here in front of the entire Clan?

The Vampire shifted his gaze and locked it onto Shun, where he narrowed his one, good and uncovered eye at him. Shun knew that he was probably thinking something about monsters, or how nice it would be to watch one destroy themselves.

That was all Zoran seemed to talk about; monsters. Sinclair suddenly cleared his throat, which tore Shun's gaze to the Vampire Lord, along with bringing a total silence to the room. It surprised Shun just how much authority Sinclair had over his faithful followers.

"Thank you all for making this meeting on such short notice," he started, "But there are some urgent things that need to be addressed now. As you all know, we've been having quite a bit of difficulty with Alexander and his upstart Blood Ring."

There were growls and other sounds of distain that rose from the Vampires around Shun when Sinclair made mention of Alexander. The Vampire Lord waved his hands to bring silence back to the room and said, "Yes, yes, I know. Alexander's very goals and his methods for achieving these goals are a threat to our way of life. We all know that between his slaughtering of people in the city, and with the rising issue of Blight, it will be only a matter of time before the Vampire Society gets involved, considering they aren't already."

Expressions of unease washed over the crowd, and Shun realized that they all had a lot to lose if something happened to this Clan. Just like Loran and Zoran, they all had more than likely been given a second chance, a new home.

Sinclair squared his shoulders back, taking on an even more powerful aura, and said, "And there is also the matter of Alexander still stealing our shipments as we send them out into the city. The stealing has started to keep us from even making deliveries and allowing Alexander's Blood Ring to start to gain momentum and to take root with some of our old clients, which is seriously starting to affect our profits."

Shun found himself surprised by this speech. He had started to grow used to a slightly more carefree Sinclair during the training sessions and in general; it had been a while since he had seen the Vampire Lord take charge like this and look so serious.

There was no nonchalant smile, or dismissive waves of the hand. He was all business, he was a leader. "On top of the stealing of our shipments, we've also been trying to take care of the Blight epidemic on our own before it takes root and raises too many red flags. We've done okay so far, but from the reports I've received, it appears that our efforts aren't making that great of a difference. The disease is still on the climb, and we are greatly outnumbered. And I'm not going to continue to send my own kind out there and risk their lives to fight in a clear, losing fight. All I can say is that so far we've been lucky that nobody else has contracted the disease since Slay, and I don't want to continue to press our luck," Sinclair stated.

Somebody from within the crowd suddenly blurted out, "What about the Society then? If we don't hurry up and take care of the Blight problem, then they'll get involved with it and might discover our Blood Ring and trace the outbreak back to us."

Shun half-expected Sinclair to lash out and yell at the Vampire that spoke out of turn during the speech, but he remained calm. "We can only handle one problem at a time, and right now, our biggest problem is Alexander. With the Blight, there's a slim chance of us being discovered or traced back by the Society. But with Alexander, it's a given that we will be caught along with him when they go and discover our stolen shipments with him," Sinclair replied.

This answer must have been enough for whoever spoke up, because they didn't utter another word for the rest of the meeting. The Vampire Lord locked his gaze onto Shun and said, "We now know we have a more than capable assassin in our midst, but he can't handle this all on his own, which means that we will more than likely need everyone's assistance in this if we are to take down Alexander and ensure the safety of our livelihood."

He then took his gaze from Shun, looked to Alucard, and said, "Alucard and I have discussed this in private since we first started to encounter trouble with Alexander, and we both agree that now is the time we need to start taking actions and bring an end to this. We've been taking things at a slow pace for a while now, and it's clear that it isn't working. No longer can we stand by and let Alexander lay ruins to a city that once belonged to us, and one that we took care of, despite what we do. People cannot compare us to Alexander because we are nothing like him and his Blood Ring. Yes, we are in the same business, and what we give to our clients may harm them, but not to the extent of what Alexander has created. If we want to secure our future in this, then we must bring an end to him. Only with him out of way will we be safe from losing what is important to us."

The crowd of Vampires cheered, demanding that this action start now, that Alexander would be history. Alucard then took over the speech from there and raised his hands above his head. It took him a bit longer to quiet the crowd than it did Sinclair, but Shun could see that the Vampires still obeyed his authority, even if it wasn't as powerful as the leader's.

"We know you want this to hurry up and come to fruition, but there is much that we have to take care of before this. Sinclair and I know that not all of you are skilled fighters, and that some of you have never fought in your life. We need to change this if we're to send you into this fight and make sure that you're all ready for what you're about to face. The last thing Sinclair and I want is to have unnecessary casualties," Alucard stated.

Shun was reminded of this same speech when he began his training to be polished up into an assassin for the Clan and Blood Ring. He had a feeling though that the other Vampires wouldn't be receiving the same training course as he had, though. That training session had been one-on-one, something private and strictly for him.

Alucard added onto his previous statements, "To ensure that things get to a good, fast start, training for those who need it will begin tomorrow. So, make sure that you all get plenty of rest for tomorrow." Shun felt a sense of relief in knowing that he didn't have to go through training again; he had done his time, and he really didn't want to go through it again, seeing as his back still ached from landing on the floor so much.

Sinclair nodded approvingly at Alucard and turned to face the crowd of Vampires. "You are all dismissed from this meeting now. Go about your nightly routines," he said seriously, but Shun could pick up on the slightest bit of carefree attitude starting to peek out again.

As the other Clan members filed out of the main room, Shun started to head towards Sinclair. The Vampire Lord caught sight of him and smiled. "Ah, Shun, glad you made the meeting. Loran mentioned something about you not feeling well, so we figured you might not make it," he said and scanned over Shun to find any signs of the illness Loran spoke of.

Shun chuckled nervously and said, "I'm fine now. Maybe I was just still tired from being so abruptly woken up." He didn't even dare mention that his abrupt 'wake up call' had been while he was still slightly under the influence of the drugs.

At the moment, Shun could feel the last bit of the blood mixture starting to wear off, and he knew it wouldn't be much longer before he would start feeling those after-effects. Then, the cycle would end up repeating itself. Sinclair stuffed his hands into his pockets and said, "That's good. Did you have something you needed to talk about? Maybe something about the meeting?"

Shun shook his head. "No. Well, not exactly. I did have something I wanted to ask, but it doesn't really concern the meeting," he explained.

Sinclair nodded and waited patiently for Shun to ask his question. "Well, with you and Alucard wanting speed up our confrontation with Alexander, I was wondering if I could request….A leave of sorts, so I can go and visit my friends and grandfather again before things start getting hectic? And just in case…You know…Something happens to me?"

Sinclair smiled and gave him a single nod. "Of course. I've told you before, Shun, that you are more than welcome to come and go as you please, but just to make sure that you are around enough in case Alucard or I ask something of you. You're more than welcome to visit your loved ones. Just make sure you've drank enough blood before going. Don't want you falling into Bloodlust around them."

Sinclair fell silent for a little bit, then smiled again. "But yes, do visit your loved ones as often as you desire. You should feel lucky to still have them with you. A lot of the others in the Clan aren't as fortunate. So, make your time count with them," he added and started down the hallway that led to his study.

Alucard silently followed behind. Shun stood in the center of the main room, which was now empty, for a moment longer. But he wasn't exactly alone. He could still feel Zoran's steely gaze locked onto him. And when he glanced over at the shadows, he saw the one, uncovered eye glaring at him.

Zoran then stepped out of the shadows, cut one final look at Shun, then retreated down the halls to return to his room; probably to sleep during the night like he did. But just before Zoran had stalked off, Shun swore that he caught a glimpse of tears in the Vampire's eyes.

He pondered that for a while, then when his head started to hurt, he pushed the thoughts away and retreated back to his own room to rest up for the visit he was about to pay his friends and grandfather.

* * *

well, another nothing to do day. I'm probably going to finish reading _The Elite _though. I've got like, five chapters left in it. It's a really good book. I recommend reading the series. The first book is called _The Selection. _It's like _The Hunger Games _crossed with the The Bachelor, just minus the bloodshed. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	28. I Will Be There

_~O~_

Sinclair had given Shun one request before he left the enclave that morning; to be back by tomorrow night to help out some with the training sessions that would be held. That deadline worked out fairly well for Shun. He planned to use his daylight hours with his friends, and by nightfall, he would leave to go see his grandfather and stay the night there, and probably catch some sleep during the morning hours as well.

After that, he would go back to the enclave and make it in time to help out. It all worked out very well in his mind, and he had a feeling that it would also work out in all actuality too. As he walked along the sidewalk, Shun pulled on the collar of his shirt to cool himself down from the heat.

Of course, he was in a jacket to help shield himself from getting burned by the sun, but at least it wasn't the thick, black hoodie that he had worn several times before. This time, the jacket was a bit thinner, and he was able to unzip this one as well.

But nonetheless, it was still miserably hot, with or without the jacket on. Shun stuffed his hands into the pockets of the jackets, and his fingers brushed over the two syringes of blood mixture he had brought with him, just in case.

He had made sure to use one before leaving the enclave, and he was holding onto the hope that it would last him long enough to get his visit with his friends over with. Odds were he'd have to use another one of those syringes before going to his grandfather's.

Shun sighed heavily and removed his hand from the pocket. After about another half and hour of walking, he reached Marucho's place. His friends that were inside had no idea of his visit, so he was sure to surprise them again like last time.

He walked up to the front door and pressed the buzzer, knowing good and well that the door would be locked. After a moment or two, Kato's voice came through the speaker. "Yes?" he asked, his voice turned fuzzy because of the poor sound quality.

Shun pressed the button to talk back and said into the microphone, "It's Shun. Can I come it?" There was another pause before Kato responded back. "Of course, Master Shun! I'll be right there." Shun waited on the doorstep for a few seconds before the door opened. Kato stood there smiling.

"It's good to see you again, Master Shun. The others will surely feel the same way. They're upstairs in their usual sitting area," he said cheerfully. Then again, Kato was always fairly cheerful; it was probably part of his job. Shun nodded and walked past the butler.

Now that he was inside, he could have taken off the jacket, but decided against it because of the marks on his arms that had been left behind from the needles; he didn't want his friends to see the little red, bruise-like marks and question them.

Besides, the air conditioner was running on high, so there really wasn't any need to take the jacket off anyway. Shun headed towards the elevator and pressed the button to go up. As he waited, he wondered how his friends would react to his sudden reappearance.

Not only had he been missing again for nearly another week when he promised that he'd drop back by sooner, but there was also the issue with his changed appearance. He was paler, and his eyes were darker from not only the drugs, but also all of the stress that had been mounting up on him.

The elevator chimed, and Shun stepped through the two silver doors. Inside, he pressed the button to the floor he desired, and the elevator began its ascent. He leaned against the fancy, polished walls of the elevator and braced himself for numerous reactions he might face.

His friends could be relieved, concerned, angry, or as ignorant as ever. Regardless of what they would be, Shun made sure that he would be prepared for it. The elevator stopped on its designated floor, and Shun stepped off. He had walked these hallways many times when he was younger, so he had no worries of getting lost while searching for where his friends would be.

A few turns around corners, and through several doors, and he was there. His friends were sitting around, talking to one another, just as Shun had suspected. Marucho was the first to notice him standing in the doorway. The short blonde's eyes widened with surprise. "Shun?" he asked, as if not sure that it really was their raven-haired friend standing there.

The others turned and looked at him as well. Shun smiled and gave them a tentative wave of the hand. "Hey, guys," he said calmly, despite the nerves that had formed and were threatening to take him over. That seemed to be happening to him a lot, as of late, whenever he spoke to somebody.

He always got nervous, paranoid. And all he could attribute it to was an after-effect of the blood mixture. Dan stood up from his seat and walked towards Shun. He asked, "Dude, where have you been? We found out from your grandfather that you lied to him about staying with us, and might I add, the old man didn't seem to happy about that when he found out."

Shun had forgotten that little lie, and perhaps he would have stayed at Marucho's that night, but he had started to feel sick. Only later did he find out that he was starting to fall into Bloodlust. So, it was for the best that he had left when he did. "I didn't want my Grandfather to worry about me if I told him I was going to house of the guy that helped me that night," he lied.

Alice suddenly appeared by Dan's side, her brown eyes narrowed disapprovingly at him. "You're lying to us again," she said shortly. Shun suddenly felt as if she were looking at him from underneath a microscope. Of course, if anyone could see through his lies, it would have been Alice.

Other than Dan, she knew him better than anyone in the entire room; it only made sense that she somehow knew when he was lying. But it wasn't like he could tell them the truth, that he was a Vampire. They'd think he was crazy, or lying to them again. Alice crossed her arms over her chest.

"We all know you've been lying to us, not just your grandfather. Now, tell us what's really been going on," she demanded. Shun could now see that this had been planned. They had been waiting for him to show back up at Marucho's so they could confront him and call him out on his lies.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked, adding a bit of an appalled tone to his words, as if he couldn't believe that they were accusing him of this. He knew he could easily fool the others, but he would have to work at if he was to get past Alice's intuition.

She took a step closer to him, narrowed her eyes further, and said, "You know exactly what we're talking about, Shun. You've been lying to us." Her expression softened a bit as she added, "Shun, we're your friends, and we're worried about you. Don't you think you at least own us some peace of mind by telling us the truth?"

Shun ran a hand through his hair and replied harshly, "I don't know what you guys are talking about. I told you the truth." The aggravation in his tone wasn't fake, like the previous appalled tone he had faked. He really was growing agitated.

Why was it so important to them if he didn't tell them the truth about what happened to him the night his life went to hell? Wasn't it enough for them that he was at least alive? Couldn't they be happy with that and forget the little details? Alice sighed heavily and turned to the others.

"Alright, guys. He isn't going to tell us anything," she told them, "No point in pressing it." Shun would have been relieved to know they were backing down, but he wasn't. They had given up too easily, much too easily. Especially Alice.

He knew first-hand that she was a determined individual, and that unless she knew there was no way for her to win something, she never gave up. While the others stalked off and returned back to their seats in the sitting room, Alice remained standing in front of him.

She walked up beside him and whispered into his ear, "I know how you are, and if you don't want to tell all of them at once, then you don't have to. I'll be in my room if you want to tell me what happened, and I promise I won't say a word to anyone else if you don't want me to."

She then walked on past him and vanished down the hallway where the rooms resided. Shun stood there for a moment, somewhat dumbfounded. He glanced down the hallway Alice had gone down. Of course she hadn't given up. "So, are you at least well?" Marucho suddenly asked.

Shun had completely forgotten about them being in the room. Had they heard what Alice whispered to him, or were they somehow in on it. By the still-confused and worried looks on their faces, he could tell they knew nothing about what she had just told him in confidential.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" he replied. Dan shot his friend a concerned look and said, "Because you don't look it." Shun tensed up a bit. So they had noticed his sickly features. He quickly told them, "I just haven't been getting a whole lot of sun lately. Or sleep."

Those two explanations would cover why he had become so pale, and why his eyes were surrounded by dark circles. But Shun could tell by their expressions that they weren't so sure about it. He took in a deep breath and told them, "I had a rather long walk here, so I think I'm going to find a room and lay down for a bit, alright?"

They all nodded, not arguing with his request to get some sleep. He wasn't really going to lay down like he told them, though. He wanted an excuse to go and see Alice without drawing any unwanted attention. Shun didn't know why he was even entertaining the idea of taking her up on her offer, but it was something about knowing that there was somebody there that he could spill his troubles to, and not have to worry about everyone else finding out, provided him some sense of solace.

He knew telling her the truth was against what Sinclair had told him, but Shun couldn't stand holding in his dark secrets for much longer. He needed somebody to talk to, to try and provide him a different perspective on this than what the Vampires back in the enclave had given him so far.

Shun thought about how Loran had told him the story or him and his brother. In a way, this was the same thing. Loran had just been tired of holding his toxic past to himself for so long, that he needed to let it out, for somebody else to hear it before it started to tear him down.

But in the end, Alice would either believe him or deem him insane. Regardless, she would hear the truth that she had asked for back in the sitting room. Shun quickly found the room she was in; it was the same room she had always stayed in while at Marucho's, the one in between Julie and Runo's rooms.

He lifted his hand to knock on the door. Alice was understanding, much more than the others. She was rational, and even if she thought he was crazy, she would probably still listen to his story and try to understand it. She was the only one he could turn to. Shun pushed down his building nerves and knocked on the door.

_~O~_

Alice had offered Shun a chance to speak with her in private, away from all of the others. She had been right how he would get defensive if everyone confronted him at once, and yet, she had let all of the others get involved anyway.

She should have just pulled him off to the side and spoken to him alone in the first place. Now, she wouldn't be surprised if he had already left now and gone back to wherever it was he had been hiding. "Why is he so stubborn?" she asked aloud to her reflection in the dresser-mirror, "What was so bad that happened to him that he can't tell us?"

She stared at her reflection for a moment, then sighed in aggravation, realizing that it had no answers for her. It was no Magic Mirror like in the fairytales. It wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know or help her in anyway. She sighed again, then froze when she heard somebody knocking at her door.

"Alice?" Shun asked from the other side. Alice felt her eyes grow wide; she didn't think he would have come to her after what happened back in the sitting room. She was sure he would have left by now. A small feeling of relief bubbled up inside of her in knowing that he trusted her enough to come to her, to confide in her to hear and keep whatever secret he was hiding.

"Alice?" he asked again, and she quickly remembered he was still standing out there in the hallway. She called back to him, "Yes, come in, come in." The doorknob turned slowly, and Shun stepped inside. Alice smiled sadly and asked, "I take it you've decided to talk to me and tell me what really happened? I promise I won't say a word to the others unless you tell me otherwise."

She wanted him to feel comfortable, that he could trust her completely. As she looked at him, Alice couldn't help but think that he appeared worse than the last time that they saw him. His face was almost white, and his eyes were missing a spark of life that used to always be in them.

Shun closed to door behind him so nobody passing by would intrude on their conversation, and what he did after that surprised even Alice. He suddenly dropped to the floor on his knees, and buried his head in his hands. His shoulders started trembling as he was overcome by sobs.

Alice stood there, in complete shock. She had never seen Shun breakdown like this. He had always appeared so strong and steady in front of everyone, even though she knew of his painful past with his mother and her death.

Never in a million years did she think she would see him so vulnerable, so weak. Alice quickly shook herself back to her senses; he was here to confide in her, to seek help, and she was too busy zoning out. She hurried and knelt down beside him.

"Shun. Shun, tell me what's wrong," she said calmly, trying desperately to soothe him. His hands had moved from the sides of his head, and they now rested on the floor, where he had dug his fingers into the light blue carpet. Tears still trailed down his face, and his breath would hitch every now and again.

Alice couldn't even begin to think of what could have possibly broken him like this. But she knew that she was the one he went to in order to possibly mend these wounds, and Alice made sure she'd try everything in her power to help.

"Shun, you can tell me," she told him gently. He glanced up at her, then adverted his gaze back down to the floor and focused on his hands. "I…..I can only be strong and take so much for so long," he said, his voice strained as sobs and fresh tears threatened him again. Alice sat there beside him while he calmed down enough to the point that he would be able to speak to her.

As she sat there, listening to his breathing hitch with sobs, and as little wet-spots formed on the carpet from tears, she could feel her own heart aching for him. Why had he been tormenting himself like this by holding in this pain for this long?

Alice couldn't help but think that he had been walking on ice for a while. He would run across the ice, forcing himself to miss thin spots so he wouldn't fall into the freezing water. Until now.

Now, he knew there would be somebody there to help pull him from the icy depths, so he allowed himself to step on that thin spot and break. Alice placed her hand on his shoulder as a small gesture of kindness to help calm him. "I'm here, Shun. You can tell me what happened," she said quietly, "I'm here."

* * *

_Chapter titled based off the song I Will Be There by Art Of Dying. _I think the song really fits with the ending of this chapter. I almost made it based off the song _The Mighty Fall by Fallout Boy, _but decided that I would use that song to base a chapter for when I start my next fanfiction, _The Crown._ It would fit better in that story. well, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~_  
_


	29. Give And Take

_~O~_

After he had calmed down, Shun told her. He told Alice what had happened to him, what he had been keeping hidden from them since his first disappearance. And she could tell by the seriousness in his voice when he spoke that he wasn't lying. _Vampires…..There's…..There's no way….._ But this was _Shun. _

He wouldn't joke about something like this. He wasn't one to make up some ridiculous sounding story like Dan would. Maybe he had started to go crazy. Alice had heard lots of stories of insane people believing in impossible things, like being able to fly.

But there was something in Shun's eyes, and the way he spoke to her, that made her believe he was perfectly sane. A little bit of an emotion wreck, but sane, nonetheless. Alice was torn between rationality and believing him. Vampires were impossible.

They were the things of myth and legend, something that didn't exist, that should never exist. But by the way Shun spoke of them in such great detail, it was almost like she could see them now, walking among people in the cities at night.

She suddenly realized that a long silence had fallen over them while she had been lost in her thoughts. Before Shun started to think that she thought he was crazy, she asked him, "So, are those killings…..Are they caused by…..Vampires?"

Shun nodded and said, "How else can you explain people being drained of their blood like that?" He had a point. The news reporters had even stated that there was no way for a human to be drained of that much blood, and there not be any on the ground around it. But what else could they assume it was? Certainly not Vampires. Nobody believed in Vampires.

So, a violent, sick and morbid gang was all that could explain the strange nature of the killings. Alice bit down on her lower lip. How was she supposed to handle this? If Shun really was crazy, supporting him and making him believe this story even more wouldn't be good for his health.

But on the other side, Alice was on the fence about believing it herself. One part of her believed in Shun, simply because it was him, and he was always serious. But another part of her, a more rational part, was screaming that this was all ludicrous.

Alice began thinking about some of the other things Shun had told her about, like the one who had Turned him; Sinclair. He had given her as much of the back-story about this supposed Vampire Lord as he dared to speak aloud.

By the way Shun spoke about him, it didn't sound like Sinclair was such a bad guy. A bit of a temper, but nothing seriously wrong. Shun had told her about how Sinclair ran something similar to a drug ring, referred to as a Blood Ring.

"So, this Sinclair guy is pretty much nothing but a drug lord or something?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation from falling into silence again. Alice had a really hard time trying to picture Shun associating himself with drug dealers.

But as he had told her, this was a way of repaying Sinclair for sparing Shun's life, rather than killing him. "In an essence," Shun said flatly. Alice could see how much calmer he was. Unlike earlier, when Shun had first showed up in her room, he had pretty much crumbled beneath the weight of his secret.

Now, he stood up a bit straighter, as if that weight was disappearing. Alice then quickly came to the conclusion that a crazy person wouldn't have a burden to get off their shoulders, they wouldn't have a sense of solace in telling somebody their secrets. Shun really was telling her the truth.

He wasn't insane, or joking with her. Alice began to wonder how many Vampires she had passed by on the streets at night, or how many she might have unknowingly spoken to. It kind of frightened her a bit thinking about that. She had come close to a creature that fed on blood, one that could kill her if it so desired. It then occurred to Alice that Shun was now one of those creatures.

He had been Turned into one. Alice felt a bit of unease settle into her with that realization, but she quickly shook it away; she wouldn't allow herself to be afraid of Shun. He was still the same person she had known for years. All that had changed about him were a few things, right?

He had told her how his senses had enhanced, meaning he could see, hear, and smell better than he used to be able to. He was also faster and stronger too. Perhaps, depending on how somebody looked at it, being Turned wasn't such a bad thing.

It could give the weak strength, the blind sight, and the deaf sound, considering she was correctly understanding how this worked. "Do you believe me?" Alice snapped herself back into focus and looked at Shun; she had almost forgotten he was there.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you," she said honestly. She really hadn't heard him through her thoughts. Shun sighed and asked again, "Do you believe me, or do you think I'm some loon that needs to be put in a mental institute?" Alice bit down on her lower lip as she thought over her answer, then smiled and looked Shun in his eyes.

"As crazy and impossible as this all sounds, I believe you," she told him. Alice thought she saw a bit of relief flash through Shun's eyes. But if it had been there, then it had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Good," he said as if the word were a heavy sigh.

Shun then turned and looked at Alice, all seriousness in his eyes. "You have to swear not to tell anyone else, though. I wasn't even supposed to tell anyone about this myself." Alice smiled and told him, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. But even if I did tell somebody, I think they'd have a harder time believing it than I did. To be honest, the only reason I believed you was because, well, it's you. If Dan or one of the others told me all the things you just did, I would have laughed and brushed it off. You wouldn't make something up like this for a joke, and I can see in your eyes and the way that you spoke of all this that you weren't lying."

Shun smiled one of his rare smiles, which gave Alice a warm feeling inside; she had always liked his smile, and it felt good to know that she had been the one this time that brought it to the surface. "Thanks," he told her, "You really have no idea how good to it feels to have somebody know about this and believe it."

Alice could kind of imagine. She had witnessed first-hand moments ago how much pain keeping this secret holed up had caused him. He needed to let it out, to tell somebody about it, or else it would have torn him apart till he broke and was unable to be pieced back together.

Alice was just relieved that he had gone to her, because she was sure none of the others would have believed him. She wanted to make sure that this wouldn't change anything between them, though. Just because Shun was now a bit different, didn't mean that he was someone that had to be feared.

If anything, Alice had been more scared when she thought he was insane as he spoke of Vampires and such. Now, she still saw the same Shun, but in a somewhat different light. Alice wanted to think of it that he was affected by some kind of condition, nothing more, nothing less.

He was still Shun, no matter what happened to him. Suddenly, the smile he had been wearing faded, and Shun started to pitch forward, nearly falling to the floor. Alice quickly grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him back up to a sitting position on the edge of the bed where they had been having their talk.

"Shun, what's wrong?" she asked, the panic rising in her voice. He brought his hand up to the side of his head and said weakly, "It's nothing." Alice rolled her eyes. _Why does he always have to be so stubborn? _She kept her hands on in his shoulders, in case he started to fall forward again, and told him, "Shun, you don't just nearly faint without a reason. Now, what's wrong? Tell me."

Shun adverted his gaze away from her, which told her that whatever was happening to him, was something he was particularly proud of. "Shun," she said forcefully, "Tell. Me." It was almost like pulling teeth to get him to speak to her. He had just told her he was a Vampire and all other kinds of impossible things, so why did he refuse to tell her what was starting to ail him?

He took in a deep breath and told her, "It's….It's my Bloodlust starting to set in…." Alice stared at him for a moment. Bloodlust? He hadn't mentioned anything about what that was while they had been talking. "What's that?" she asked, still keeping her hold on his shoulders.

She could feel his shoulders trembling slightly underneath her hands. Shun took in another deep breath and told her, "It happens when I don't consume enough blood…..It's sort of like a way for my body to tell me that I need some soon, or else…..Or else it will find some on it's own…"

He shook his head and stood up from the edge of the bed, wobbling a bit and nearly losing his balance and falling back down. If Alice hadn't kept her hold on him, he would have collapsed. She forced him to sit back down, but he just kept shaking his head.

"No, you don't understand. I have to get out of here. If it gets any worse, then I'll lose it. And the last thing I want to do is lose it and hurt you or somebody else," he told her. Alice saw that his eyes were brimming with worry and fear. He was scared of himself.

Alice lowered her gaze to the floor as she thought of what to do, of what to say. When the answers came to her mind, she extended her exposed wrist to him. "Take some of my blood," she told him. Shun stared at her as if she had gone insane. "What? No way. I'm not going to bite you and drink your blood," he said back.

Alice knew he would resist and fight back like this, so to try and help change his mind, she told him, "And what about other people? If you're in as bad of a shape as you say you are, what will stop you from losing it while making your way back to Sinclair's and hurting people on the streets? Shun, just take some of my blood, enough to tide you over and stop this Bloodlust or whatever it is."

She could tell by the look in his eyes that she had made a point. He could take blood now, or take a gamble on making it back to Sinclair's and risk hurting strangers. He shook his head again and told her, "No, Sinclair strictly forbids us from taking blood directly from a human. If we do, we run the risk of developing a disease. I need to get the blood from the enclave."

Shun tried to stand up again, but Alice didn't let him. He stared at her in surprise. "And will you get this disease by taking blood from a human one time?" she asked. Shun shook his head and told her, "No, but still. Not only is it forbidden by Sinclair, but I also don't think I could bring myself to do that to you."

His concern for her well-being meant a lot to Alice, but she still didn't want to watch him lose control and hurt innocent people. And she certainly didn't want to watch him suffer anymore. "Shun," she said to him, "Please, just take what you need. I'm sure Sinclair will understand, seeing as this is an emergency. If you're worried about hurting me, then don't be. I'll be fine. You, on the other hand, need this."

Alice could see how reluctant Shun was to do this, but there was also a defeat in his eyes. He knew that she was right, that she had a strong and valid point. Alice held out her wrist to him again. "Take it," she told him gently. She wasn't going to lie that she was a bit worried about him taking blood from her; she didn't even like getting shots.

Shun took her hand in his and stared at her exposed wrist. "Are you sure?" he asked wearily. Alice nodded. She had never been more sure about something before. Shun nodded and then said to her, "Promise me one thing, though. Promise me you won't be afraid of me after this, that you won't think any differently of me than you did ten minutes ago." Alice nodded.

"I promise," she told him. Shun took in a deep, shaky breath as he brought her wrist up to his lips. Alice flinched as she felt her skin being punctured by two, razor-sharp fangs. It hurt for a split second, then the pain went away as quickly as it came.

She could feel her blood being taken from her arm, and even though it didn't hurt, it felt kind of weird. Alice stared down and saw a thin line of blood escape from her arm and drip onto the carpet. She made a note to apologize to Marucho for the stain, and if anyone asked, she would just tell them that she cut herself on something.

Shun suddenly drew back from her wrist and adverted his gaze as he wiped some excess blood from his mouth; Alice noticed he was still trembling. He also looked as if he might be sick. "God, that still disgusts me," he hissed under his breath. Alice glanced down at her wrist and saw the two puncture wounds.

They were little red dots, but they weren't bleeding now. She then turned her gaze back to Shun and gently asked, "Did you get enough?" She felt fine, not even light-headed. But with the way Shun was still shaking slightly, she wondered if he had taken enough.

He shook his head and told her, "No, I didn't. But I didn't want to risk possibly taking too much from you. That, and it was rather difficult to get a lot from your wrist." Alice sat down beside him on the bed and stared at her wrist. She then sighed and moved all of her bright orange hair to one shoulder, exposing her neck.

Shun caught sight of what she was doing out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face her. "No," he said sternly, "I'm not taking _any _from your neck." Alice shot him a serious look. "Shun, you still need some. I can tell by the way you're still trembling, and I can see that it's still causing you pain just by looking into your eyes and at your face. Just take it. If I feel like you might be taking too much, I'll let you know."

She could see the conflicted emotion flashing in his eyes. He didn't want to, but he knew that he had to or he'd lose it and hurt somebody. It went against the morals he still held, but instinct told him otherwise. "Shun," Alice begged. She didn't want him to suffer, she wanted to help him, and this was the only way she saw fit.

He lowered his head in defeat and said, "Alright. You're obviously not going to stop until I do this." Alice smiled. _I can be stubborn too, ya know, _she thought to herself. Shun moved closer to her, putting his face near her neck. Alice felt his short, ragged breaths running across her exposed skin.

She then felt the grazing of fangs, and she forced herself to hold in a little gasp that had formed at the touch. Alice shut her eyes tight as she braced herself to feel those fangs bite into her, and when they did, she flinched like she did when Shun bit into her wrist.

And just like with her wrist, the pain was brief, but numbed up shortly after, making it dull and almost unnoticeable. The strange feeling of blood being drained from her body returned, this time a bit more profound now that Shun was getting more than he had from her wrist.

Alice could feel her heart racing in her chest. Even though she wasn't scared of Shun, it still was a bit unnerving to have a Vampire drinking her blood. A sudden sense of familiarity then came over her. The numbed, dull pain reminded her of the pain her neck experienced that morning she woke up.

Alice hadn't been able to explain it, and had just attributed it to sleeping wrong. But the dull pain was exactly the same as the pain she experienced when she woke up. And with that, she also thought about the dream she couldn't remember, the one where the only thing she had known about it was that she had been terrified. Alice pushed the thoughts out of her mind.

It was all coincidence, it had to be. She wasn't going to let her thoughts cause her panic. If they did, then Shun might think that she was scared of him, and she didn't want that. She wasn't scared of him. Shun brought his hands up and held onto her shoulders.

Alice then felt his nails starting to dig into her skin, and she bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out at the biting pain. A feeling of vertigo started to wash over Alice, making the room around her spin on its axis. She was starting to lose too much blood, and she knew it was time to pull Shun off of her.

She lifted a weak hand and placed it on his shoulder. "Shun," she said hoarsely, "That's enough. I'm starting to get light-headed." But he mustn't have heard her because he kept drinking. "Shun, you have to stop now," she told him. He just kept drinking. If she didn't do something, he might end up draining her dry.

Alice, feeling a bit of panic starting to set in, started to pat, not quite hit, on his shoulder. "Shun, that's enough," she said, forcing her weakened voice to be a bit louder and forceful. Little white dots started to dance around in her field of vision. She had to stop him. Now.

Alice gathered what was left of her strength and shouted, "Shun! Enough!" She got through to him this time. Almost immediately after she had shouted at him, he let go of her and pulled his fangs out of her shoulder. Alice, drained and weakened, blacked-out right after that and fell back onto her bed.

* * *

Happy Saturday people! (it is saturday, right? I've lost track of my days since school let out). o.o" Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	30. The Cover-Up

_~O~_

Alice's eyes slowly opened and came back into focus. She lay there in her bed, finding herself staring up at the slowing rotating ceiling fan and the pulley chain that hung from it. She then sat up in the bed and felt a small wave of vertigo hit her; it was clear that she still hadn't fully recovered from earlier when she allowed Shun to take blood from her.

He had taken enough that when he stopped, she had blacked-out from the loss. Alice didn't blame him or hold any ill feelings towards him for it, thought. He had been dealing with Bloodlust, or whatever he had called it, at the time, and he needed the blood. Alice let out a yawn; she was still exhausted and weak.

Not to mention she was still a bit light-headed at the moment. Most people, at this point, would have thought that all of what happened earlier had been a dream. Not Alice. She knew better. She knew that it all had been real, not a figment of her imagination.

And she wasn't about to start telling herself it had been a dream, because all that would have done to her was make it more of a shock when reality kicked back in. Alice noticed that her neck ached a bit, and when she placed her hand on where Shun had fed from her at, she felt two band-aids over where the puncture wounds would have been.

_He must have put these on me while I was unconscious, _she thought to herself and smiled at the kind gesture. There were also two bandages on her wrist, covering the small puncture wounds that resided there. Alice then began to wonder where Shun was, and when she turned, she found him laying beside her, sound asleep.

Her eyes widened in surprise. How had she not noticed him there until then? Perhaps it had to do with the fact that she was still a bit disoriented from blood-loss. It didn't really bother her that Shun had fallen asleep beside her, but it did make her a bit paranoid when she thought about one of the others walking into her room and seeing them like this; they would surely know something was up if they did.

But nobody had come into her room when she had allowed Shun to take her blood, so that little fact eased her worry some. She glanced over at the door, which was closed, and saw that the lock was turned up, meaning that the door was locked.

Alice figured that Shun mist have also locked the door to keep any wandering eyes from looking inside and freaking out at the site. She reminded herself to thank him later for looking out for her. Alice then glanced back over at Shun. There wasn't exactly anywhere else for him to have laid down.

Yeah, there was a small sofa in the corner of the room, but it wasn't near big enough for somebody to lay down on comfortably and fall asleep. So what other choice did he have for a place to lay down? The floor? Alice reached out and was about to wake Shun, but stopped herself.

There was something peaceful about seeing him sleeping so soundly. His face showed no worries like it had earlier when he had been telling her his dark secret. He just looked so at ease. Alice could tell he was in a deep sleep by how slowly he was breathing, and she decided that it would be best not to disturb his rest. Quietly as she possibly could, Alice climbed out of the bed without waking him.

As she did so, her legs wobbled a bit beneath her weight. It might have been smart for her to remain laying down as she recovered her strength, but there was a greater demand for her to get food and water back into her system to help replace some of what she had lost after allowing Shun to take so much blood.

It was just like when they took blood at the Donating Services. They would usually give you something to eat and drink afterwards to help get you back to normal. Alice figured that that was what she needed. She walked around to the other side of the bed, the side where Shun was sleeping, and reached down to pull the covers up to his shoulders so he wouldn't get cold.

As she did so, Alice noticed he didn't have on the jacket he had on earlier. She figured he must have gotten hot in it or maybe got some of her blood on it. And when she glanced around, she found it draped over the back of the sofa. Not thinking much of it, she went back to pulling the covers over him, but stopped when she looked more closely at his arms.

They were exposed now, and she could see what the jacket sleeves would have been covering if he still wore it. On his arms, were small, purple-blue spots that looked like bruises. Alice narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what could have left the strange marks.

As she stood there, pondering, Shun moved a bit in his sleep, which jarred Alice back to reality. She resumed pulling the blanket up to his shoulders like she had been doing and left out of the room. She decided that she'd try and remind herself later to ask him what had given him those marks on his arms.

As Alice walked down the hallway to rejoin the others, she passed by a wall-clock and checked the time. Her eyes widened. It was almost nine 'o' clock at night. It had been a little past three when she and Shun had their little talk and all of that. She had been out cold for nearly six hours.

Realizing that the others must be worried sick about her, she hurried back to the sitting room that they usually inhabited. Sure enough, she found them all sitting there, talking to one another. When they saw Alice enter the room, their talking ceased, and looks of concern washed over their faces.

Runo, being the concerned friend that she was, stood up from her chair and walked up to Alice. "Are you okay?" she asked gently, "You vanished after we confronted Shun and haven't heard from you since then." The others had gotten up as well and now stood behind Runo, awaiting Alice's answer.

"I'm sorry if I made you guys worry. I….I had gotten a bit of a migraine after we talked with Shun and went to sleep it off….Guess it was worse than I thought," Alice told them and smiled nervously. She then realized that, now that she was the keeper of Shun's secret, she would have to lie to her own friends as well whenever he came up in conversation, or was involved in it in any way, shape, or form.

It kind of pained Alice a bit knowing that she couldn't be honest with the others, but Shun had entrusted her with his story, and she had given him her word not to tell anyone. Marucho spoke up and told Alice, "You should have come to me or Kato and told us about your headache. We could have gotten you something for it."

Alice smiled down at the short blonde boy and told him, "The thought didn't cross my mind. I'll remember next time it happens." Runo reached out and took Alice's hands into hers and said, "Don't make us worry like that again, alright?" Alice felt bad for causing them so much worry, but there really wasn't anything she could have done to prevent it.

If she hadn't let Shun bite her and take her blood, he would have lost it and possibly hurt her or one of the others. And Alice knew if Shun had harmed one of his friends, or anyone for that matter, he probably wouldn't have been able to live with himself.

"I promise, Runo, it won't happen again," she told the bluenette. But how could Alice promise something like that? What if Shun fell into Bloodlust again and Alice was the only one around him? Odds were she would offer up her blood to him again if it meant keeping him in control of himself, despite how much he would refuse to bite her again.

Runo suddenly narrowed her eyes and asked, "What happened to your neck?" Alice's hand immediately went up to grab hold of the two band-aids to hide them from sight. "Oh….These?….Um, I….I think a bug or something bit me while I was asleep," she lied.

Or, perhaps, half-lied. Something _had _bitten her, but it wasn't a bug. _It was a Vampire, _she thought to herself. Behind Runo, Julie pointed down to Alice's wrist and asked, "Did you get bitten there too?" Alice was starting to feel nervous with all of these questions being fired at her, and all the persecuting looks she was getting.

Was this how Shun had felt when everyone had suddenly ganged up on him and began asking questions? If so, then Alice hated herself even more for allowing it to happen. She hated feeling like she was being interrogated.

"I accidentally caught my wrist on the bed frame in my room and cut myself. I'm sorry, Marucho, but there's a bit of my blood on the floor from it," she told him, realizing that this was a perfect time to get the story of the blood-stain on the floor out of the way.

Marucho waved his hand dismissively, "It's alright, Alice. Accidents happen. I'll just get one of the maids to clean it up sometime this week." Dan, who apparently had gotten tired of standing, sat back down on the couch and said, "Well, what I want to know is what happened to Shun. After you left out, he said he was going to lay down and rest up after his walk here. But that was like, hours ago. I'm starting to think he said that as an excuse to sneak out of here without us noticing him so we wouldn't question him anymore."

Alice thought about Shun back in her room, sound asleep. Odds were his excuse about going to lay down had been a lie he came up with in order to get away so he could speak to her in private. "Alice? Are you okay?" Julie suddenly asked. Alice tensed up, then tried to play it off with a smile as she said, "Yeah, I told you guys I was fine, didn't I?"

Julie shook her head and said, "No, I wasn't talking about earlier. I meant now. Your face started to turn a bit pink a second ago." When the silver-haired girl said this, it was like Alice could feel the warmth spreading across her face. She hadn't even noticed that she had started blushing when she was thinking about Shun.

"Uh….My face gets a little flushed sometimes when I have a migraine. It's nothing," Alice said nervously. It was going to be harder to keep Shun's secret and her cover than she thought it would be. Especially since Alice wasn't the best liar in the world.

From the couch, Dan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Back to what I was saying a second ago, I think he bailed the moment he had a chance." Alice decided to use Dan's suspicions to her advantage in order to keep them from looking around for Shun.

"You might be right," she told the brunette, "I don't think I heard him walk down the hall towards the other rooms. Shun probably did run off when he was able to." Dan shook his head and mumbled, "I knew it….I swear, what's up with him…."

Despite the hostility in Dan's voice, Alice could tell that he was worried about Shun. She felt bad for keeping the truth about his best friend from the brunette, but she had to. There was no other way around it. Alice then remembered what she had come out of her room for.

"Oh, yeah. Is there any dinner leftover?" she asked. Marucho nodded and told her, "Yeah. I had Kato wrap your plate up and stick it in a fridge in case you wanted it later, since you didn't come down to eat tonight. I'll tell Kato to get it out and heat it up for you. Do you want Kato to take it up to your room?"

Alice's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "No!" she said in a panic. Everyone's eyes were glued onto her in surprise. Alice ran her hand through her hair nervously and said, "Uh…What I mean is…Uh, there's really no need for Kato to walk up all this way for me. He doesn't have to go out of his way for something like that. I'll just eat it in the dining hall."

Marucho raised a blonde eyebrow and said, "Okay, then. I'll go get Kato and tell him. You can head on down to the dining hall, I guess." Alice nodded and quickly walked out of the room, thankful to get away from the aftermath of her embarrassing actions.

_This is going to be so much harder than I thought it would be, isn't it? _she silently asked herself as she made her way to the dining hall. But Alice would get through it. She had to.

Not only for Shun's sake, but also for her own. Because if she broke Shun's trust in her and revealed his secret, she knew that he would never forgive her. Alice might not even forgive herself.

* * *

hope you like this chapter because I've been eager to get the past three chapters written and on here, so now I can live happily until I get to the next chapters that I'm eager to write. So, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	31. A Hollow Promise

_~O~_

The others had already turned in for the night by the time Alice had finished eating her dinner. It had been late as it was when she finally woke up after passing out from losing too much blood, so it was to be expected that the others would go on to bed soon. Alice was relieved that they had turned in, though.

That way she didn't have to possibly encounter anymore questions from the others about the bandages on her neck and wrist, or mess up again and do something embarrassing that would cause the others to get even more suspicious than they already were.

Alice hadn't exactly played it off smoothly when she woke up and rejoined the others earlier. She had been on edge, nervous, and her actions mirrored her inner feelings perfectly; if nobody noticed her odd behavior, it was a miracle. Alice, finishing off the rest of her late dinner, picked up the empty plate and took it into the kitchen, saving Kato the hassle.

She wasn't exactly sure where the dishwasher was, so she set the plate and silverware down in a nearby sink instead; she figured somebody would find it in the morning and take care of it. Feeling somewhat better now that she had a full meal in her, Alice headed back up towards her room.

The hallways, which would have usually been dark at this time of night, were fully lit. It was a safety precaution. So far, the police and other investigation officials had proven that the killers that lurked out in the streets at night, usually didn't break into houses that had all of the lights on.

Nobody had known why, but Alice knew. She knew because of the whole new world Shun had informed her of. The killers out in the city, the ones who drained the blood of their victims, were Vampires. And Shun had mentioned that, while light didn't make Vampires combust into flames like in the movies, it was a bit unpleasant for them and their sensitive eyes and skin.

That had been why Shun wore a jacket or hoodie out during the daytime, despite the horrible summer heat. At first, before she knew anything about Vampires, Alice just thought he was crazy to be wearing such warm clothing when it was so hot outside.

But now she knew that, even though it was unpleasant to have on that extra layering, it kept him from getting a rather nasty sunburn. Alice thought that that was a bit of an inconvenience, but Shun had seemed to be making due with it, so she didn't mention anything else about it.

Alice reached her room and stepped inside, making sure to lock the door behind her to keep anyone from coming in unannounced. She used to hardly ever lock her door, but with Shun in her room, she wasn't taking any chances. _Better safe than sorry, _she thought to herself.

Alice glanced over at her bed, surprised to find that Shun was still as sound asleep as she had left him. Alice began to wonder when was the last time he had gotten a decent amount of rest. She shrugged the thought off as she walked over to flip on a small table lamp that rested on a dresser.

It didn't light up the whole room, but it gave enough illumination so she could still see, without being bright enough to disturb Shun. Alice wasn't all that tired at the moment; she had gotten plenty of shut-eye while she had been unconscious. And now that she had been up and about for a little while, she was very much awake.

But she figured that reading a book or messing around on her laptop would help pass the time until she grew tired again. Alice made her way over to her pile of luggage she had brought with her for her stay at Marucho's. She had brought several books along with her to read during the night, and since her stay at the short blonde's mansion was longer than she had expected, thanks to the killings, she had read every book at least twice so far.

And she wasn't really feeling up to reading them a third time that night. So, Alice dug around in her luggage until she found her laptop. The only times she had used it was to keep up with the news stories of the killings, and the names of the victims.

She remembered keeping her eyes open as she scrolled down the lists of the victims, searching for Shun's name, and praying she wouldn't find it. Alice opened up the laptop and turned it on. The volume was turned up rather high from the last time she used it, and the little chime it made as it turned on filled the room with sound.

Surprised and also a little panicked, Alice reached for the volume and quickly turned it off. She then glanced over at Shun to see if the sound woke him. All he did was move a bit in his sleep. Alice let out a small sigh of relief; she didn't want to disturb his peaceful rest, seeing as he appeared so at ease while he was asleep.

The last thing Alice wanted to do was ruin that for him. Seeing that she hadn't woken him, Alice turned her attention back onto the laptop and got on the internet. The Google homepage popped up, and in the search bar, she typed in the word _Vampires. _

Alice wanted to see what she could find on her own about the creatures that had hidden in plain sight for so many years. She encountered a bunch of sites that were dedicated to the supernatural, and several blogs of people that claimed to have seen a Vampire.

But their descriptions didn't match up with what Shun had told her about the mysterious creatures, which told Alice that these people were lying to get noticed. Nothing she found seemed to match what she now knew as the truth, and Alice began to wonder if any of these people claiming to have seen a Vampire, even believed in them at all.

She then came across a blog that was talking about the killings that were going on in the city. Alice clicked on the link and went to the site. The admin was saying how he believed that those responsible for the killings were Vampires, and he gave lists of reasons why.

But when Alice glanced down at the comments below, and saw all of the hostile words and people saying how there was no way, she instantly knew that nobody would believe this guy, even though he was right. He was more right than anyone would ever know.

After a couple more hours of searching through websites that gave her the same old, false information, and probably several viruses on her laptop, Alice shut the computer down and closed it. She let out a long yawn and leaned back into the sofa she was sitting on.

Her previous awareness was fading now that fatigue was catching back up to her. Not only was she tired from the hours of staring at the laptop screen, but she was also still a bit worn out from losing all of that blood; nowhere near as bad as earlier, but still enough to know that she should have been taking it easy, rather than searching the internet.

Alice set her laptop back into her suitcase and picked up her nightclothes. She took them with her into her bathroom and changed into the lavender-colored, flannel pajamas. She also brushed her hair out so it wouldn't be as knotted up in the morning.

When she was done getting ready, Alice stepped out of the bathroom and stared at her bed for a moment. She would have to get past the small feeling of awkwardness she felt at the thought of sleeping beside Shun because she wasn't about to kick him out, and she certainly wasn't about to take refuge on the floor or the sofa.

Alice let out a sigh and walked across the room to turn off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness for the first time since the killers…No, Vampires, started breaking into people's homes and killing entire families. She had been leaving the light on, taking advice about the light seeming to help keep the killers away at night if it was bright enough, but now that Shun was in the room with her, she felt somewhat safer.

She knew that he would keep her safe if somebody tried to break into her room while she slept. Alice yawned again and climbed into the vacant side of her bed and brought the covers up just below her shoulders like she liked. The instant she placed her head on her pillow, Alice fell into a deep, peaceful sleep that could have rivaled Shun's.

_~O~_

Shun woke up when he felt something bump his leg, and when he opened his eyes, he found that Alice had inched closer to him and kicked him in her sleep. He propped himself up on his elbow and stifled a yawn that threatened to escape, then glanced down at the orange-haired girl.

He noticed her change of clothes, which told him she had woken up at some point, and that she still wasn't unconscious from earlier. Shun still felt immensely guilty about taking that much blood from her, and even though he had heard her telling him to stop, that she was getting light-headed, he had kept drinking.

Only when she shouted it, and he heard the desperation and panic in her voice, did he get a grip and stop himself. Shun still didn't know what had come over him when that happened. He had never had a problem stopping himself drinking blood from the enclave.

In fact, he still couldn't stand it, and the only reason he did was to help take the edge off after-effects of the drugs, and to also make sure he didn't fall into Bloodlust. But he hadn't been drinking enough blood as of late. Shun had taken a sip here and there, but not as much as he should have been.

He had had no need really the past couple of days because he had been under the influence of the drugs almost every waking hour of the day since he took a whole bag from the storage room. And while being in the grip of the drugs, he had no reason to drink blood to take the edge off of the after-effects because there were none; he hadn't given them a chance to wear off for any to set in.

And because of his negligence, he had started to fall into Bloodlust. If Alice hadn't known about him being a Vampire, if she hadn't offered up her blood for him, he would have lost control and probably would have ended up hurting one of his friends.

Shun cringed at the thought. Shun's eyes fell onto the two bandages on Alice's neck. He had dug around and found several and placed them on the puncture wounds on her neck and wrists after she passed out. It was only shortly after that that Shun started to feel tired.

He attributed it to a combination of taking so much blood from Alice, and from all of the restless days of sleep he had been having, thanks to the drugs. Shun had started waking up in the middle of the day, when he should have been sound asleep, because his body was racked with muscle aches as it pleaded for more the blood mixtures.

He had begun to notice that since taking that syringe back at Lucille's hideout, which had been considerably stronger than Sinclair's blood mixture, Shun had started to double up on his injections, even triple up at times in order to get his body's needs and wants to quiet down to where he could live with it.

It was like his mind wanted whatever was in that syringe he took from Lucille, and that Sinclair's drug just wasn't cutting it anymore. He was starting to get where he needed something stronger, and that scared Shun. It terrified him.

Shun ran a hand through his hair and quickly pushed those thoughts back down into the depths of his mind. The last thing he needed was to start freaking himself out and wake Alice when she appeared to be resting so easily. He would worry about his growing addiction when he got back to the enclave, but not now.

He didn't want to cause Alice anymore worry. His eyes drifted back to the two bandages on her neck. Through the dark, thanks to his enhanced vision, he could see them clearly. Shun noticed that the puncture wounds must have started bleeding again at some point, because he could see a tiny red dot in the center of the band-aid where blood had made its way through the little patch of gauze underneath.

Shun reached out and gently touched the bandages. Alice didn't even move. He still hated himself for taking that much from her, for bringing her to the point that she blacked-out. If he had kept drinking from her for another ten seconds, or maybe even less, he might have seriously hurt her, or maybe even killed her.

But there had been something about her blood, something about it that drove him to take that much and not want to stop, despite Alice's demands. It had been much sweeter than the blood that was stored in a cooler back in the enclave, and there had been a moment where Shun had completely forgotten that it was blood he was drinking.

Her blood had been thin and smooth, not thick like the enclave's blood. It was warm and gentle, not cold and lifeless like what he had been drinking thus far. Shun suddenly found himself looming over Alice, his face near her neck and his fangs protruding out, ready to sink back into her flesh and take the crimson treasure that circulated beneath.

He flinched back, disgusted at himself for what he had just tried to do. It had been one thing to take her blood when she had offered it to him, and when he had needed it, but it was completely different to even think about trying to take more while she was asleep, and when he had already drained her of so much already.

Shun found that his hands were trembling slightly. He wasn't sure if it was from the shock of what he had almost done, or if his body was trying to tell him that it was in need of another shot of the blood mixture. Odds were that it was a combination of both.

Shun's eyes drifted over to his jacket that he had placed on the back of the sofa. He still had those two syringes with him in the pockets, and it was almost like he could feel them calling out to him, begging to be used. Shun was just about to get up and go to them, when he noticed sunlight filtering in through the window and shining down on the floor.

His eyes widened. Shun had slept through the night, the time that he had meant to stop by his grandfather's and spend the night there, but he had completely forgotten about it and allowed himself to fall asleep. Now, it was morning time, and he would have to be back at the enclave by nightfall to help out with training sessions like he had promised Sinclair.

His grandfather would have to wait till another time, because Shun wouldn't have the time to stop by the old man's place and still make it back to the enclave before nighttime; it would take him most of the daytime just walking back to the enclave as it was.

Shun quickly jumped out of the bed and started throwing on his jacket. He had to get a move on now if he were to make it back in time. If he didn't get back when he said he would, Shun had a feeling Sinclair would be rather displeased, and might even restrict him from going to see anyone after this. Shun's sudden, frantic movements, and the sound of him swearing under his breath, woke Alice.

She sat up, her hair a bit of a mess from where she had tossed and turned in her sleep. "Shun? What's going on?" she asked groggily as she rubbed at her eyes.

Shun straightened his jacket sleeves, which had gotten twisted in his rush, and told her, "I didn't mean to stay here this long. I have to get back to the enclave by nightfall, or else Sinclair might not be too happy with me. He'll already be plenty pissed if he finds out I took blood from you, so I don't need anymore on his list of reasons to get ticked off at me."

Alice had climbed out from her bed and had gone over to a suitcase that rested against the wall. "Hold up, Shun," she told him and held up her index finger to indicate for him to wait. Alice then turned around and handed him a flip-phone; she held one identical to it in her other hand.

Shun stared at it for a moment, then glanced up at her. "What do you want me to do with this?" he asked her as he took the phone from her and looked it over.

She smiled and told him, "I always carry two phones with me whenever I travel away from home, in case I lose one. But I want you to take my back-up phone in case you ever need to call me or just want to talk. My number is already on that phone, so there's nothing you have to worry about other than looking it up."

Shun glanced back down at the phone. There wasn't anything really special about it; it was just a plain, black flip-phone. Simple, and straight to the point, just like Alice. But that phone meant something to Shun, though. It told him that he had somebody to confide in, somebody that would be there for him and help him through the difficult parts of his new life. He wasn't alone in this anymore.

Shun smiled. "Thanks, Alice," he told her and tucked the phone away in his jacket pocket, where it settled down with the two syringes of blood mixture. She also handed him the charger to the phone, which he wrapped up in its own cord and placed in the opposite pocket, seeing as the other one was getting rather full.

"I really need to get out of here, now," he told her and glanced out the window. The sun was rising higher in the morning sky, and cars were starting to flood the streets as people headed off to work. Now would be the time to go, while the others were still asleep.

That way, he didn't have to worry about running into them as he left out. Alice nodded to let him know she understood. Shun started towards the door, and once he got it unlocked and was about to step out into the hallway, Alice's voice stopped him.

"Hey, Shun," she said. He turned around to face her. "Yeah?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe. She smiled slightly and told him, "Be careful, alright? Don't do anything too reckless." Shun smiled back at her and said, "I promise. Bye."

He turned and started down the hallway, thinking about the lie he had just told her about not doing anything reckless. He had been doing reckless, dangerous things for a while now, and Shun knew he would keep on doing them, and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

didn't really mean for that chapter to be so long, but what the hey. There were things that needed to get said and done in this chapter, so, I hope you enjoyed! read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


	32. On A Lighter Note

_~O~_

Shun made it back to the enclave right as the sun was starting to set behind the city's skyline. The enclave itself was about a mile or so from the city, hidden out in a small forested area. It was the perfect location for hidden creatures to live, seeing as hardly anyone ventured out this far from the city, other than the occasional nature-trail walker.

Shun stood right outside of the entrance, looking back at the city. Soon, it would be nighttime, and Alexander's Vampires would resume their nightly killings. That hadn't exactly bothered Shun all that much until now. Maybe it made him unease now because Alice was somebody that was very important to him.

She was now the person that knew his secret, and had accepted it without any denial or argument. Shun just didn't want anything to happen to her. He didn't want to go back to facing everything by himself after obtaining somebody that promised to walk alongside him through it.

Shun sighed and started down the entrance to the enclave, which to the passing eye, would have just looked like the mouth of a cave. But if somebody walked deeper within the dark depths, they would find the door that separated this world from a world of Vampires.

The door itself was camouflaged to blend into the rocky walls of the cave, just in case somebody did happen upon it. Shun reached the hidden door and pulled it open; at this time of day, Sinclair had gone ahead and unlocked the door. It was usually locked during the daylight hours as an extra safety measure.

When Shun stepped inside the enclave, he was surprised to see just how many of the other Clan members were up and about. He figured, seeing as the sun was still out, many of them would continue to rest throughout the remaining daylight hours to get some extra sleep before the training sessions that night.

He closed the door behind him, and the sound made his arrival back known. Eyes turned and looked at Shun, but only for a couple of seconds. After the curiosity wore off, everyone went back to their previous conversations and whatever else they had been doing.

Sinclair then made his way through the crowd and walked up to Shun. "Ah, perfect timing," he said and placed his hand on Shun's shoulder as they navigated through the crowd, "We were just about to get the training sessions started. You can go on ahead to the Training Room and wait for the others to show up if you want."

They got through the main room and walked down one of the many hallways. Shun turned to look at Sinclair and asked, "Do you mind if I go and change into something more comfortable, seeing as I'm going to be helping instruct them how to fight?" It was a lie, of course. He could have fought perfectly fine in what he wore.

But Shun wanted to get out of the jacket he wore and put the phone Alice gave him away, and to also hide the two, still very full syringes of blood mixture he had on him. The last thing he needed was for those to fall out of his jacket pocket on the training floor for all to see.

"Of course. That's perfectly understandable. Just don't take forever," Sinclair said nonchalantly. The Vampire Lord then glanced down at Shun and casually asked, "So, how did your visit with your friends and family go?" Shun shrugged his shoulders, trying to make it seem as though nothing interesting had happened.

He wasn't going to tell Sinclair how his friends had interrogated him, and he wasn't going to utter a word about him telling Alice about Vampires. And he _certainly _wasn't going to mention a thing about him drinking Alice's blood. "It went alright, I suppose. I didn't get a chance to drop by my grandfather's, though. I'll just have to get around to doing that another time," he told Sinclair in the flattest tone he could manage.

The two didn't say much to each other on the rest of their walk. After a few minutes, Shun reached his room and retreated inside. He got out of the jacket and reached into the pockets, taking out the phone, its charger, and the two syringes.

He eyed them for a bit as he wondered if he could get away with a quick hit. It didn't take very long for the initial effect of the drug to wear down to a point that he could function normally and was completely coherent, so it was very possible that he could use one of the syringes and still be able to help with the training sessions.

Shun decided it was worth it. He hadn't used any while he had been at Marucho's, and he could feel his muscle twitching with anticipation of another dose. He removed the orange cap of the syringe and placed it on the inside of his arm, near the other bruises from previous injections.

The needle bit into his skin, allowing a channel for the blood mixture to travel into his veins as Shun put pressure on the syringe's plunger. Almost instantly, the tenseness and weight that had been bearing down on him lifted as his body got what it wanted.

With the syringe empty, he threw it into a quart Zip-Lock bag that he had swiped for the sheer purpose of disposing the used syringes in. The bag was almost full with empty syringes. He stuck the bag back in its hiding place behind the headboard of his bed, and then walked over to the dark, wooden dresser to find another shirt to wear.

After a bit of digging, Shun found a dark gray shirt and slipped it on. The sleeves didn't go all the way down to his wrists, but were long enough to hide the bruises from the needles on his forearms. That was all that mattered. Feeling more up to the training sessions now, thanks to the lightening effects of the drugs, Shun left out and made his way towards the Training Room.

_~O~_

Alucard stood behind Sinclair, leaning against the mirrored wall of the Training Room. There were about thirty or so Vampires on the training floor, waiting for the sessions to begin. And they would have already begun, if all of the designated instructors were there.

Shun didn't show up with Sinclair, despite the fact that Alucard had seen them walk out of the main room together. "He's just getting changed into something more appropriate for the training sessions," the Vampire Lord had explained. Of course, Alucard hadn't questioned Shun's whereabouts anymore after that.

After about ten more minutes, the raven-haired teen finally showed up. When he did, Sinclair clapped his hands to gather the attention of the Vampires that were present.

"Alright, alright! All of the instructors are here now, so we can begin. Seeing as there are only three of us instructors, I want to organize you all into groups of three. I want those of you with the most fighting experience to go with Shun so he can help polish up some of your skills. Those with a bit of experience will go with Alucard, and any of you who have never fought before or know none of the basics will be with me," Sinclair instructed.

Alucard could see the faces of some of the Vampires that were to be stuck with Sinclair. They wore the same, uneasy and nervous expressions that Shun had the day the he had to spar with the Vampire Lord. Alucard watched as the mass of Vampires split up into their designated groups.

He glanced over and saw that Shun didn't have a very large group to instruct, which might have been a good thing, seeing as the raven-haired teen was still fairly new to fighting himself. But he had proven his worth when he was sent to take care of Lucille.

Alucard understood why Sinclair was taking on those with no skills whatsoever, but he didn't know why he had given Shun those with the most experience of the lot. He would think about it later, or ask Sinclair after all of this was done.

Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand, which was making sure that the Vampires in front of him would be able to fight and stand their own for a bit. He glanced over who he was stuck training. Alucard noted that most of them had been a part of the Blood Ring and Clan for about a year or so, and the most any of them might have done was make a couple of deliveries or mix the blood for the final product. Never once did they have to fight, until now.

With Alexander running wild and attacking the shipments, even the Clan's dealers and deliverymen were getting ambushed. Thankfully, no one else had been hurt by an attack since Slay. Other than Shun, of course. The raven-haired teen had been attacked by Alexander himself, and the blond-haired freak had injected Shun with that 'drug.'

It could hardly be considered a drug as strong as it was. Sinclair seemed to favor calling it a biological weapon of sorts. Perhaps that really was the best thing to call it. But Loran had made sure to get most of that vile drug out of Shun's system, but Alucard had noticed that the raven-haired teen hadn't exactly been himself since then.

The strange behavior had been expected for a couple days after being injected with that stuff, but it had only continued from there, nearly everyday it seemed. Alucard wondered if he was the only one who noticed this change in Shun, but he didn't dare say a thing about it.

He wasn't exactly sure if there was something going on with the raven-haired teen, or if that was just how he was now after being turned into a Vampire; a change like that was something stressful enough to cause somebody's attitude and actions to shift.

Alucard kept meaning to discuss the topic with Sinclair, but with the whole Clan cracking down as they got ready for their confrontation with Alexander, the Vampire Lord had been under enough pressure. And Alucard didn't want to add more to Sinclair's already-full plate.

The second-in-command was suddenly snapped back into focus from his thoughts when he heard somebody clear their throat. He looked up and saw that the Vampires he was supposed to be instructing were standing there, looks of confusion and impatience in their eyes.

The one who cleared their throat, a young girl that was named Jessie if he recalled, asked, "Are we going to start, or not?" Alucard narrowed his eyes at her. Jessie, since becoming part of the Clan over a year ago, had never really settled into the hierarchical statuses and orders that were set.

Of course, Sinclair was at the top of the Clan's food chain, followed by Alucard right below and so on. But Jessie had always been stubborn and was known for her sharp tongue. There had even been a time when she first came to the Clan that she had talked back to Sinclair.

That had shocked Alucard. _Who does she think she is? _he had thought at the time. But much to his surprise, Sinclair hadn't lashed out. He had only smiled and walked always, not even scolding her for her outburst at her superior. "Of course," Alucard replied to her coldly and then turned to the others in his group.

He did a quick count, he had around fourteen to deal with, and told them, "Okay, I want you all to get into groups of two and spar for a while. I'll be walking around and examining your fighting styles and give you pointers if need be. You all may begin."

He watched as they broke off into seven groups, and noticed that Jessie had partnered up with one of the bigger, stronger Vampires of the group. _Figures, _Alucard thought to himself and rolled his eyes. He walked over to the wall and leaned against it, watching the sparring matches from afar.

Things seemed to be going well; a few misplaced steps and lost footing caused a couple of the Vampires to lose their balance, but they weren't horrible fighters. Not like the Vampires that were over there with Sinclair. Most of them were finding themselves constantly falling on the floor, much like Shun when he first sparred with the Vampire Lord.

Alucard couldn't help but chuckled. There was nothing more amusing than watching Sinclair make others realize how inexperienced they were without even breaking a sweat, while the others were getting ready to pull their hair out from frustration at not being able to even land a single hit to the Vampire Lord.

"Hey! Hey! Get off of me!" a voice shouted. Alucard looked up and found Jessie had pinned her opponent, and now had his arm twisted around behind his back. She wore a smug look of dominance on her face. The others sparring matches he had been overseeing had stopped as they all turned to watch Jessie make her poor victim cry.

Alucard, suddenly feeling Sinclair's steely gaze on him, hurried over to break the fight up. He reached down and grabbed Jessie's shoulder, pulling her off the Vampire she had nearly broken the arm of. "What's wrong with you?" he hissed at her and then turned his attention to her disabled opponent, making sure he was alright.

All the Vampire did was scramble up to his feet and put some distance between himself and Jessie. Alucard narrowed his eyes down at the girl. She was fixing her brown hair into a ponytail, as if she hadn't done anything. "These are just sparring matches, not full-on combat," he told her sternly.

God, it was like scolding a hard-headed child. She glanced up at Alucard and shrugged his hand off of her shoulder. "Just trying to impress the boss over there," she said and tilted her head towards where Sinclair was standing. Alucard tensed up and said harshly, "That will not impress Sinclair. If anything, harsh and uncalled actions like that might result in your banishment from this Clan."

_I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet, _he thought bitterly. Next to Loran, Alucard despised this girl as much as him; then again, since his little talk with Loran, Jessie might have taken over the top spot on his list. It wasn't that she was just disrespectful to Sinclair, but also to everyone else around her.

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his black hair. "Okay, everyone just take a ten minute break before swapping opponents," he told his group. They all shrugged their shoulders and went over to the side of the training floor to talk among one another.

Alucard walked back over to the mirrored wall and leaned against it, where he rubbed the temples on the side of his head to ease the headache that was trying to form. "I see Jessie is still a handful," a voice said to his right. Alucard glanced over and found that Sinclair had joined his side.

"You have no idea, Sir," the second-in-command groaned, "She's got to be the most disrespectful one in the whole Clan. Not to mention one of the more violent ones." Sinclair began to laugh. Alucard stared at the Vampire Lord in surprise as he tried to figure out what was so funny.

"Sir?" he asked, growing a bit concerned that the Vampire Lord might be losing it. Sinclair wiped a tear from his eye and said with a chuckle, "You quite obviously don't remember how you were when you first joined the Clan. You weren't disrespectful to me like Jessie is, but you weren't exactly kind to everyone else in the Clan, either."

Alucard tensed up and said defensively, "I respected you because I was grateful for what you did for me! The rest of them had done nothing to earn my respect at the time!"

Sinclair grinned and told him, "That's true, but do you recall how it took a couple of years for you to start opening up to the others, to accept them as your new family? You had been so defensive towards them and when you finally realized that this was your new home, and that they were also apart of it, not just me, you lost _a bit _of that hostility. You're still a bit cold to the other Clan members, but I believe that's just in your nature. Nothing that can be done about that, right?"

Sinclair paused for a moment, as if waiting for Alucard to reply to the rhetorical question. When he didn't say anything, Sinclair said, "What I'm getting at is that Jessie still needs time to warm up to all of this. It's going to take her a while to fully accept that this is her new home and family, just as it took you a while. And when she finally comes to that realization, she'll be a valuable asset to the Clan like you. You should know that I don't let anyone join the Clan unless I see potential in them. All Jessie needs is time. Everyone adapts differently, and some take longer than others."

Alucard hated that Sinclair had a solid point to his argument. How could he hold hostile feelings towards Jessie now after all that Sinclair had just told him? He sighed heavily and said, "I guess you're right, Sir." Sinclair smiled and then patted Alucard on the head.

The second-in-command ducked down a bit and cut a glare at the Vampire Lord; Sinclair knew how much he despised being patted like a dog. "Ah, still as submissive as always when I make a point in an argument and end up proving myself right," Sinclair mused and continued to pat him on the head, "Good boy, Alucard."

Alucard flashed a glare filled with daggers at Sinclair and growled. The Vampire Lord held up his index finger and smiled deviously, then said, "No no, growling isn't being a good boy, now is it?" Alucard couldn't stand being treated like a dog, just because of his loyalty to Sinclair.

There had been several others in the Clan years ago that had started that comparison between him and a dog, and when Sinclair caught wind of the joke, it had only gotten worse. The Vampire Lord would sometimes compare Alucard to a dog for his own amusement, but other times, it was to get the second-in-command's thoughts off of things that bothered him.

That was what Sinclair was doing now. He was trying to pull Alucard's thoughts away from Jessie and her disrespectfulness so he could go back to focusing on making sure that the Vampires he was stuck with would learn to fight. It was a very effective method, and it had taken Alucard years to figure out that Sinclair was actually doing it for his own good, rather than for the Vampire Lord's amusement; although, he still did it for those reasons as well.

"I get it, I get it," Alucard said shortly. Regardless of the fact Sinclair treated him like a faithful dog from time to time, Alucard still hated it. Sinclair smiled and told him, "Alright, then. Now, get back to work. I'm pretty sure it's been ten minutes by now. Don't want your students over there thinking you're as much as a pushover as you really are."

Alucard grinned and shook his head as he strode back onto the training floor, feeling a bit refreshed and calmed down from earlier. He wasn't going to let his personal problems with Jessie and some of the others bother him. He was there to do one job, and one job only; to make sure these underlings were able to fight and defend their own lives in the face of battle.

"Okay, break time's over!" he called over to them. Alucard heard a small chorus of displeased groans as their break was ended. Jessie walked up to him and narrowed her brown eyes at him. "It hasn't been anywhere near ten minutes yet," she told him coldly.

Alucard shrugged his shoulders and said calmly, "Everyone's perception of time is different, and to me, it's been ten minutes. Get back onto the training floor." She stared at him in surprise. Apparently she had thought that her little snide remark would have gotten to him, and the face she had when she realized that it hadn't, was almost priceless to Alucard.

"Fine," she huffed and brushed past him. Alucard grinned at his small victory and turned around to joined the underlings on the training floor when he caught a glimpse of Shun. He had the Vampires in his group doing sparring matches with one another as well, and appeared to be supervising them.

But when Alucard looked more closely, he saw that Shun was leaning against the wall and seemed to be breathing heavily, as if he had just run a marathon. _Something's not right, _Alucard thought to himself. He turned around and told his group of underlings, "Hold on for a minute. I'll be right back." Alucard then left his area of the training floor and made his way over to Shun.

* * *

a bit of humor for your Tuesday...It is Tuesday, right? I don't even know anymore. o.o" I've had little to no reason to try and remember what day it is since I've been out of school. Oh well. Hope you liked this chapter; it was more of a filler than anything else. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	33. Downward Spiral

_~O~_

Shun should have known better. He should have known that that one syringe of blood mixture wouldn't be enough, seeing as he had gotten to the point of injecting himself with three or four just to extinguish the aches his body experienced.

It worked for a little bit, but now it was starting to wear off, and he was falling fast. Shun, unable to fully stand on his own, had gone over to the wall and leaned against it. He tried to make it look like he was watching the sparring matches at hand, in case somebody glanced over at him, but he apparently wasn't putting up a convincing enough performance because Alucard started to walk towards him.

Shun quickly stuffed his trembling hands into his pockets to keep them out of sight, and tried to stand up a bit straighter. Alucard now stood in front of the raven-haired teen and asked, "Is everything alright? I noticed back over there that it looked like something was wrong."

Shun felt his already-speeding heart pick up a bit more as the possibility of Alucard discovering his drug use loomed overhead. "Yeah," he replied nervously, "I'm fine." Alucard narrowed his violet eyes down at Shun; it was clear that the Vampire didn't believe his lie.

"Are you sure? You don't look like you feel too well," Alucard asked, still prying for a truth that Shun refused to tell. And to make matters worse, Sinclair strode across the Training Room and joined their conversation. "Is everything alright over here?" the Vampire Lord asked, his voice wavering between authority and its usual nonchalant tone.

Shun figured that Sinclair was readying himself in case of an altercation happening between Alucard and himself. Alucard turned and explained to the Vampire Lord, "I came over because I noticed he didn't look well. I was just making sure there wasn't anything wrong."

Sinclair gave Shun a quick glance over and said, "He's right. You're looking a bit unwell. Are you sure you're okay?" Sinclair's tone wasn't really all that concerned. It would have been more described as flat, maybe even a bit unsure. Did Sinclair suspect something now?

The thought only made Shun's nerves worse. "Well," Shun started, but his voice trailed off. He felt as though he was cornered, and leaning against the wall didn't help his feeling of the walls closing in around him. He then forced himself to focus; he couldn't afford to lose it. Not now, at least.

"I….I was feeling a bit sick when I got back…..I didn't think anything of it at the time, though…..Perhaps I was just out in the sun for too long, or something along those lines," Shun lied, hoping that the two Vampires bought his story.

Sinclair glanced over at Alucard and asked him, "Do you think you can handle the underlings that Shun was watching over?" Alucard nodded and said, "Of course. They seem capable enough, so I don't think they'll cause me any added trouble."

Shun felt the knot in his chest starting to loosen up a bit. It appeared that they were buying it. Sinclair nodded and said, "Very well. Then you'll take over Shun's group while he goes and gets some rest." Alucard nodded and left to go and take the Vampires that Shun had been supervising, and added them onto his own group.

Sinclair turned his attention back to the raven-haired teen and told him, "You just go on back to your room and take it easy. I'll have somebody get a hold of Loran in a little bit so he can bring you some blood. That's all you should need till you recover a bit more; rest and blood. Now, go on. You're dismissed."

Shun nodded and left the Training Room, ignoring the curious eyes that seemed to follow him on the way out. He then stumbled his way back to his room, leaning against the wall for support so he wouldn't fall to the ground; luckily, Shun didn't pass anyone in the cavernous hallways to see him in this state.

After what felt like an agonizingly long time, he finally got back to his room. Shun closed the door behind him, but didn't lock it, seeing as Loran would be by in a while with some blood for him. He stumbled over to his bed and lifted up the mattress to gain access to the syringes of blood mixture that he kept hidden underneath.

Shun removed the Zip-Lock bag, which had been full of the syringes only days before, and took noticed that there were only about five or six left; he would have to break into the storage room again soon for more. Taking the remainder of the syringes with him, Shun locked himself away in his bathroom.

That way, he could get the drugs into him without running the risk of Loran or anyone else walking in on him and catching him in the act. Shun leaned back against the bathroom door and slid down to the fancy, marble floor. The pain he was in was worse than any he had experienced thus far.

His body screamed, shouted, and demanded for the drug to quench its ever growing thirst. His head pounded with his pulse that seemed to explode in his ears. With shaking hands, Shun opened the Zip-Lock and dumped the remaining syringes out onto the floor.

He scrambled for one and took the orange cap off, revealing the needle that hid underneath. And without a moment's hesitation, he buried the needle into his arm and injected the crimson drug into his veins. Shun knew he would need more than one to quell his body's needs.

So, when that syringe was empty, he moved onto another and did the same thing. Before he could even realize it, he had injected himself with all of the syringes of blood mixture he had left, all six of them. Shun leaned his head back against the door and gazed listlessly up at the ceiling, which had begun to spin a bit.

His arms ached from the repetitive injections, but that pain was nothing compared to what he had been dealing with only seconds ago. Shun could feel the drug coursing through his veins and quieting his body and mind's desire for the substance, easing his pain a bit. It still wasn't enough to erase all of the pain and suffering, but it made it livable for a while. A wave of nausea then hit Shun, and he quickly reached for the trashcan nearest him.

_~O~_

Loran walked down the hallways towards Shun's room, carrying with him a chalice filled with blood, and several more plastic bags of the crimson liquid as refills for later. Sinclair had sent an underling to Loran moments earlier, requesting that the gray-haired Vampire bring some blood to Shun's room.

When Loran had asked why and if something was wrong, the underling said that Sinclair had mentioned something about Shun feeling sick after his trip from visiting his friends and family. Of course, Loran hadn't protested the request; somebody needed his help, simple as that.

That, and it had been a request from Sinclair, and one doesn't just decline a request from the Vampire Lord. Unless they have a possible death-wish. Loran reached Shun's room and knocked twice on the thick, mahogany door. He waited for a moment and listened carefully.

There was no answer. _Shun might be asleep by now, _he thought to himself and opened the door as quietly as he possibly could as to not disturb the raven-haired teen. Much to Loran's surprise, he didn't find Shun asleep. In fact, the blankets were still undisturbed from where they had been neatly made after the bed's last use.

Confused, Loran looked around the room and sat down the chalice and bags of blood on the nightstand beside the bed. "Shun?" he asked, wondering where the raven-haired teen could have gone. Had he not made it back to his room yet?

Or maybe he might have collapsed somewhere in the hallways on his way back? Loran then heard something, and when he listened more carefully, he found that the sound was coming from Shun's bathroom. The gray-haired Vampire walked up to the door and said, "Shun?"

Now that Loran was closer to the door, he could hear the sound of Shun heaving. _He must be pretty sick, _he thought to himself and then remembered why he had come into Shun's room in the first place. "Shun, I brought you some blood like Sinclair asked me to. It's on the nightstand beside your bed," he said through the door, hopefully loud enough to where Shun could hear him.

He didn't get a response; only the sound of the raven-haired teen throwing up. Loran couldn't help but cringe at the unpleasant sound as he left out of the room. As he walked down the hallways of the enclave, he ran into Sinclair and Alucard.

The Vampire Lord smiled warmly and said, "Ah, Loran. We were just taking a bit of a break from the training sessions now and decided to look for you and ask if you got that blood to Shun." Loran nodded and told Sinclair, "I did, Sir. Well, in a way. I set it on the nightstand beside his bed, seeing as he was locked away in his bathroom throwing up. Whatever he's coming down with doesn't sound too pretty."

Alucard spoke up and said to Sinclair, "He did mention the sun might have gotten to him. I've seen many Vampires get sick if they weren't shielded from the sun well enough. That might be all it is." Sinclair thought over Alucard's suggestion and said, "Maybe. If it is, then he'll be over it soon enough once he cools down and gets some blood into him."

The Vampire Lord turned back to Loran and told him, "Thank you again for your assistance, Loran." The two Vampires then walked past him, their brief conversation ended. Loran stood there in the middle of the hallway for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next.

He could go to the underlings that were in the Training Room and ask if they needed anything, but figured that Sinclair had made sure that they all had anything they might need. So, he decided against that. Loran shrugged his shoulders and started towards his own room; it had been a long time since he had just taken it easy and had time to himself.

He was always putting the needs of others before his own, so it was a like a little reward whenever he got to have anytime to himself to relax. Loran reached his room and stepped inside. The room itself was no bigger than any of the others in the enclave, but it appeared that it was because of the way he had the furniture spread out.

He stood there for a moment and thought about what he could do in his newly acquired free-time. Loran's eyes fell over to his bookshelf and opted to sit and read for a little while. He knelt before the shelves and scanned over the titles of worn, hand-me-down paperback books that he had collected over the years.

Many of the books, considered classics by humans, he hadn't even gotten a chance to read because of his busy schedule he made for himself. But all the books on the shelves, he did have one that was his favorite that he had read many times; _Dracula._

The book had to be the closest that any human got to writing a correct story about Vampires, and Loran always thought that the author had perfectly caught the ancient Vampire Lord's likeness in the book. Some of the others in the Clan didn't think so, but their opinions never really mattered to Loran. But Loran practically knew the story by heart, so he opted against reading it for the hundredth time.

His eyes continued to scan the shelves, but they caught sight of something that rest on top of the old bookshelf; a picture. Loran stood up and picked the old, framed picture up and wiped away a thin layer of dust that had formed over the glass.

It was a picture of him and Zoran when they were young, nothing more than innocent children. Loran couldn't help but shake his head at the stupid, childish grin he wore in the picture, while his brother wore this expression of constant sorrow and pain. Zoran also still had both of his eyes in the picture.

Loran had told his brother that he hadn't taken anything from their old home when they left other than his name, but that had been a lie. He had taken this picture with him. But it wasn't just the two brothers in the photo. There was also their parents.

Although, Loran had folded the picture down, hiding their mother and father's faces in the frame. The only evidence that they were there were the sets of hands that rested on the brothers' shoulders. Loran realized that it had been years since he looked at their faces, and he had a bit of trouble remembering exactly what they looked like.

Curiosity won him over, and he removed the picture from its frame, where he proceeded to unfold the top half. And there they were; his and Zoran's parents. Loran took note that Zoran obviously got his looks from their mother. Her hair, like his brother's, was black as the night, and they both had the same colored eyes.

Loran, on the other hand, took more after their father. That was where he had gotten the ashen-gray hair and eyes from, along with some of his facial features. It kind of disturbed Loran how much he and his father resembled one another, and he couldn't help but wonder if Zoran noticed it to. Did his brother see their father in him? Loran hoped not. He was _nothing _like his father, and he refused to be.

Their father had been a monster, a true monster. Even though he had never laid a hand on Loran, it didn't matter. Their father had scarred Zoran for life with all of the abuse, and that was unforgivable. But Loran couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if they had stayed.

He knew for a fact that Zoran would have only been further abused, but Loran wondered more of how he himself would have been. Would he have been how he was now? Caring and generous to people that sometimes didn't even want his sympathy?

Or would he have turned cold and ruthless like their father? Loran shook his head, no longer wishing to think of the past that they had left behind forever, and folded the picture back in half so he could place it back in the frame. He set the photo back on the shelf and looked at it.

He looked at his brother's sad gaze and was instantly reminded of why he helped and cared so much for complete strangers, of why he put the well-being of others before his own. It was to help Zoran see that world wasn't as dark as it appeared to be, to show him that there was still light left to be found among the shadows, to show him if one person could be unselfish, then others would follow suit.

But Loran had been at that same mission for years, and it felt like sometimes that he was making no progress in making Zoran see this elusive light. But Loran wasn't going to give up. He would keep at it until the very end, despite how bleak and hopeless his mission seemed at times.

Loran sighed heavily; his previous desire to read one of his books was gone now, replaced with a heavy feeling in his chest after so many dark feelings of his past ran through his mind. He shook his head and stepped away from the bookshelf and picture that rested on top of it.

Loran then decided that he would just wait until his next opportunity for time to himself came along, because he needed to clear his mind, needed to keep busy. And the only thing that seemed to do those things, was helping others. So, he left out his room and went through the enclave, searching for someone, anyone, to help and keep his mind busy.

* * *

gah, the feels, man, the feels. It's good to get some feels every now and again, right? Well, i hope you enjoyed the feels at the end of this chapter. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	34. Killer Instincts

_~O~_

Shun woke up and found himself laying on the floor of his bathroom. The cool tile floor felt good against his skin, and he didn't want to leave the tile's cool touch. But despite his reluctance, he forced himself into a sitting position and leaned his back against the cabinets.

His head ached and throbbed as he sat up; it was very clear that his body didn't want to be moving like this. Shun glanced over at the trash can that rested a few feet from him. For about twenty minutes straight he had been sick until the point that whenever he heaved, nothing else came out. He ran a trembling hand through his hair, which was damp with sweat.

His gaze then went from the trash can to the empty syringes that laid scattered about on the floor. There were six total. Six. That had been the largest amount of the blood mixture that he had injected into himself at one time thus far, and that scared Shun.

He knew that if it took that many for him just to ease his aches and pains, then he would surely start needed more and more. This was going to be the death of him. With his shaking hands, Shun picked up the empty syringes and threw them into the trash can, disposing of them since they no longer served a use. Then, using the cabinets as a means of leverage, Shun pushed himself up to his feet.

His legs nearly buckled beneath him once, but he held on and continued to force himself to stand. The muscles in his body ached as though they were being scorched by fever, or as if he had run for a long period of time without any breaks.

When Shun felt as sturdy on his feet as he was going to get, he turned around and turned the faucet on. Water came rushing out and collected in the sink for a bit before running down the drain. Using his hands as a cup, Shun caught some of the water and splashed it on his face, washing away some of the sweat and to help himself feel a bit more awake.

It didn't do much for waking him and making him alert like he had hoped, but it had helped a bit. He then brought a handful of water to his lips and sipped on it to get the horrible taste from his mouth. Shun turned the faucet off and grabbed a hand towel that sat beside the sink and used it to dry the water from his face and from around his mouth.

He then cautiously glanced up at his reflection in the mirror; he didn't have to see it to know how horrible he probably looked. And his assumption had been right. He looked like Death in the flesh with his paling skin tone and sunken eyes.

_Rest…..Rest is what I need, _he told himself and left out of the bathroom to go and lay down in his own bed. When he reached the bed, Shun noticed that there was a chalice and several bags of blood resting on the nightstand. _Looks like Loran brought that blood like Sinclair had said he would, _Shun thought to himself and picked up the chalice.

The blood had settled to room temperature and had congealed a bit; the blood in the bags was still fine. Shun brought the chalice up near his face, knowing that he needed the blood right now to help speed along his recovery from his most recent shots of the drug.

But when he took one whiff of it, he thought he might be sink again, and he instantly knew that his stomach was still too weak to handle anything. But necessity won out over all else, and he carefully brought the chalice to his lips, allowing a small sip to enter his mouth.

The taste made his skin crawl. It wasn't so much the fact that it was room temperature, or the fact that it was a bit thicker than normal now that it had settled. It was more of the fact that it wasn't fresh blood. It wasn't _Alice's _blood. The blood in the chalice couldn't even hold a candle to Alice's blood and its sweetness, its warmth.

When Shun realized what he was thinking about, and that his fangs had sharpened at the thought of Alice's blood, he dropped the chalice and covered his mouth with his hand. The chalice clinked on the ground, spilling its crimson contents out.

Now, the floor looked as if somebody had just been murdered in the room, and the body disposed of, but the blood left behind. Shun stared down at the blood in horror, but he wasn't exactly looking at it; he was looking past it at something else that wasn't there.

How could he think of such a thing? How he could he be fantasizing over Alice's blood? He had hated himself for drinking it when he went over to Marucho's, but he had had no other choice. It was either that, or lose control and hurt anyone that came his way.

Shun began to furiously shake his head. _I'm sick. Sick. Sick. Sick, _he thought to himself. And he didn't mean physically sick. He meant mentally. He knew he wasn't right at the moment, and he just attributed those previous thoughts of Alice's blood to stress caused from the six syringes of blood mixture that were still crawling in his veins.

That had to be what was making him think those disgusting things. He wasn't going to admit that he had liked, if not loved, the taste of Alice's blood. The thought that that might even be a possibility made him cringe in disgust at himself.

A knocking at the door ripped Shun from his thoughts and snapped him back to reality. "Come in," he said hoarsely. His voice was rough and gravely from being sick for twenty minutes straight. Loran then entered his room after Shun gave him permission to come in.

The gray-haired Vampire told him, "I was stopping by to see how you were doing. When I came by earlier to drop off that blood you were locked up in your bathroom and I decided it might be best to let you be." Loran's gray eyes then fell onto the spilled blood on the floor.

Shun noticed this and said, "Sorry. The chalice slipped from my hands." Loran smiled kindly and told him, "It's alright. I'll clean it up. It's not a problem." The Vampire retreated into the bathroom, and Shun prayed that he didn't noticed the six syringes in the trash can; he doubted they would be seen, though.

Loran then came back into the room with several towels in hand and placed them on the spilled blood. They instantly began to soak up the blood, turning them from their off-color tan to a dark red. Shun, as disoriented as he was, noticed that something appeared to be troubling Loran.

He asked, "Is everything alright?" Loran glanced up at Shun and smiled sadly. "Yeah. Everything's fine. Just a little distracted is all. No need to worry," the gray-haired Vampire said with fake enthusiasm. Shun narrowed his eyes at the young Vampire. "Loran."

The Vampire looked up at Shun again and sighed heavily. "Alright. I'm just a bit out of it because I've been thinking about my parents and dwelling back on mine and Zoran's past. There's nothing that can be done about it, though, so you have no reason to worry about me. Besides, you look like you're in no condition to be worrying about anyone other than yourself at the moment."

Shun wasn't going to argue with that. He could hardly keep up with himself, much less somebody else's problems. Loran started picking up the bloody towels when Shun asked him, "So, how did the rest of the training sessions going after my absence? Or do you know?"

Shun wanted to make it seem like he felt bad for missing the training sessions, when in all actuality, he really didn't care that he had; he hadn't really wanted to help from the start, but it had been a request from Sinclair, and you don't deny Sinclair.

"I dropped by there a little while ago when Sinclair and Alucard were wrapping things up for the day. It looked like everything went fine, but I wasn't in there all night, so I don't really know," he said and searched for a way to hold the towels just right so blood wouldn't drip from the edges of the fabric.

Shun nodded and said, "That's good. I was worried I had caused them an inconvenience." Loran chuckled and told him, "No, I don't think you did that. Sinclair and Alucard are more than capable of handling sudden problems like this, so you have nothing to worry about. Well, I think I'll go and dispose of these towels. You know, you really need to drink some of that blood, or else you'll never get any better. I can bring you some fresh blood from the fridge if you don't want that room temperature stuff."

Shun thought it over and didn't think it mattered the temperature of the blood all that much. That is, unless it was fresh from the source…..He quickly stopped himself from delving deeper into those sick thoughts of Alice's blood. "I'll keep what's already here. That way you won't have to waste your time and go get more just because I'm being picky," Shun said, trying to lighten his own mood by adding that little stab at humor at the end.

Loran smiled either because he found it somewhat amusing, or he just felt that he had to, and said, "Alright, I guess I'll be out of here, then." Loran then left out, taking the towels with him so he could dispose of them. Shun sighed heavily and laid back on his bed.

His aching body felt like it melted into the plush comforters of the bed. His eyes then started to grow heavy now that he was being absorbed by the comforting, warm embrace of his bed and blankets. Shun then slipped off to sleep and into a dream.

He wasn't alone in the dream, though. Alice was with him. Well, maybe not exactly with him. She was there, though, standing in the center of an empty sidewalk and gazing up at a full moon. Shun didn't think she knew he was there. If she did, then she wasn't acknowledging his presence.

Alice tilted her head back a bit more as she looked up at the night sky. The stars sparkled in her brown eyes, and the silver moon cast a silver glow to her naturally pale skin. She looked lovely standing out in the lights of the night, but Shun's gaze shifted from her face down to her neck, which was exposed and wide open.

He felt his heart speed up a bit at the sight, and his canine teeth sharpened into fangs with the anticipation of getting another taste of her blood. Shun found himself getting closer to her, one step at a time, and never once did his eyes leave her neck.

He then clamped his hands over his mouth, and actually pierced his own palm with one of his fangs, but it didn't bother him. _No, I won't do it! I won't take her blood again! It was one time! _he screamed to himself in his mind, praying that his new instincts would listen and understand. Alice then turned and looked at him, and her face lit up with her warm smile.

"Oh, hey, Shun. What are you doing here?" she asked in her innocent tone. Shun felt himself nearing closer to her again, and it took everything in his will-power to halt himself again. He tried to run, but it was as if his legs weighed a ton, or were frozen in place, and the only time they would move was to get closer to her.

Alice took a couple steps towards Shun, her hand extended out to him for him to take. "Come over here and look at the stars with me," she beckoned cheerfully. Shun almost allowed himself to step towards her again, but held his ground.

"No," he said through his hand that still covered his mouth, "You need to get out of here, Alice." As much as her blood tantalized him, he didn't want to take it again. He had taken too much the first time, and he could have killed her if he hadn't gotten a grip.

Shun didn't want to try his luck with drinking her blood again, he didn't want to hurt her and lose the one person he could turn to now. Alice looked at him with confusion in her eyes and asked, "Why? Are those Vampires responsible for the killings out here? If they are, then I'm not afraid. You know why? Because you're out here now, and I know you won't let them hurt me. Right, Shun?"

Shun felt his eyes widen at her words, and what was left of his fight drained from him. He found himself walking towards her, despite his mind screaming for him to stop, to not get near her. Shun now stood behind her, and Alice went back to looking up at the starry sky.

His eyes found their way back to her neck, and before Shun even knew what was going on, he had wrapped his arms around her stomach, bringing Alice close to him and holding her tight in his embrace. Alice gasped in surprise.

He then burrowed his fangs into her neck and tasted the sweet, warm blood the flowed beneath her skin. Shun drank until he suddenly felt Alice's tense muscles go limp, and she slumped down to the ground through his arms. Shun let go of her the rest of the way, allowing her to completely fall onto the concrete sidewalk.

He clamped his hand over his mouth again and stared down at her motionless body. Shun then knelt down beside her and shook her lightly. "Alice! Alice, wake up! Alice!" he cried out, praying to reach her and get her to open her eyes and look at him, to look at the monster that he was so she would stay away from him to keep herself safe.

Her eyes opened a bit, and he could see her brown orbs through the smallest of slits in her eyelids. But Shun also saw that her eyes looked vacant, distant even though they were looking at him. Shun then felt something like sand beneath his hands, and took them off Alice's shoulders to see that she was turning into ash.

When he looked back, she was gone, carried off into the night by some cursed wind. Shun stared at where she had been, tears rolling down his face. He then cried out into the night air in anger at himself for causing this. His eyes then shot open as the dream came to an abrupt halt, and he found himself laying in his bed, sweat covering him and causing his hair to stick to his face.

Shun then looked over and saw that one of his hands was laying beside a pillow, and the pillow was ripped to shreds by his claws during his horrible nightmare. He sat up in the bed and stared down at his hands, the very hands that held Alice in that dream as he drained the life from her.

They were trembling, and it was as if he could still feel her as she turned to ash. Shun then wrapped his hands around his arms, holding himself in his own embrace, and allowed himself to cry both tears of relief and fear. Relief because it had only been a dream, and fear because of what kind of monster he might be turning into.

* * *

sorry for not uploading yesterday. I went to hang with a friend that day and bought some dresses. There might not be an upload tomorrow either, since I don't know what time I'm supposed to be going to get a haircut and some reeds for my sax. And after Saturday, there won't be another upload until probably next monday, seeing as I'm going to be in Florida from Sunday to Sunday. Just a head's up folks. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	35. City Of Blood

_~O~_

Alice had been sitting in the dinning hall with the others, eating lunch, when the piercing pain shot through her. It originated at her neck, right where Shun had bitten her and taken blood several days ago. She cried out, more in surprise than pain, and clamped her hand on the aching area.

That was when she felt something warm and thick there, and she removed her hand to find that her fingers had a thin coating of blood on them. Alice placed her hand back on her neck and stood up from the table. Up until then, the others at the table apparently hadn't noticed her sudden distress.

But now that she was standing, hand clamped on her neck and eyes wide with surprise and a bit of fear, their full-attention was directed on her. Runo set her fork down, a bite of food still resting on the utensil's prongs, and said, "Alice? What's wrong?"

Alice moved her hand a bit to try and keep the blood from being spotted between her fingers. So far, it appeared she was doing a good job. Alice nodded and started to make her way out of the dinning hall, making sure to keep her bleeding wound hidden.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. I just remembered something that….Uh, I need to take care of. Be right back," she said hastily and fled the room. She knew that the others were probably staring at where she had been standing back in the dinning hall, and were now more than likely exchanging concerned looks at one another.

Alice hated causing them so much grief, but she would have to get used to it; it wasn't an option. That's what she had signed up for when Shun entrusted her with his dark secret, the secret of him being a Vampire.

Alice had thought it would have been easy to keep something like that from the others, but the last couple of days had shown her that she was a terrible liar, and acted very out of character around the others whenever she felt that they were prying or if they were onto her.

She shook her mind free of those thoughts as she hurried into her room, and made a bee-line for her bathroom. Once inside, Alice locked the door behind her and removed her hand from her neck. Her fingers were covered in sticky, warm blood. Her blood.

Using her clean hand, she pulled her hair to the side and access the bleeding wound. Sure enough, the spot where Shun had bitten her and reopened and begun bleeding again. Alice didn't know why, though. She had just checked the wound that morning, and when she did, the two puncture wounds had been almost healed over.

She didn't have the slightest clue as to what caused them to reopen like this and start bleeding again. Alice shook herself back into focus and turned on the sink. The water came rushing out of the faucet and ran over her hands as she washed the blood from her skin and out from underneath her fingernails.

A pinkish trail led down the sink and vanished in the drain. Alice then reached over for a washcloth, wet it a bit underneath the running water, and pressed it onto her neck. The water was cold, and nipped at her skin, causing a small chill to travel through her body.

She finished wiping the last of the smeared blood from her neck. Now, the two puncture wounds stood on their own, no longer dripping the crimson liquid. Leaning closer to the mirror, Alice examined them in her reflection. The puncture marks were fresh, as if she had just been bitten again.

But she hadn't. Nobody had bitten her. If they had, then the others surely would have witnessed as a Vampire sunk its fangs into her neck right there in the dinning hall. It didn't make sense. Perhaps she had unconsciously scratched her neck and reopened the wounds herself.

But if she had done that, then she would have seen red marks from her nails. This strange phenomenon made Alice worry because she didn't know what to make of it, what to think. She decided to stick with theory that she must have opened the bite marks back up on her own.

What other explanation was there? Alice began to dig around in cabinets in her bathroom until she located a box of band-aids. She then removed two of them and stuck one over each puncture wound, covering up the exposed hole in her neck from infection, and also from the wandering eyes of her friends.

If they asked why she was wearing the band-aids again, she would just tell them that the bug bites that she had 'supposedly' gotten a couple days ago were acting up again. They'd believe it, she had no doubts about that. All patched up and no longer bleeding from the fresh wounds in her neck, Alice stepped out of the bathroom and was about to head back to the dinning hall to rejoin the others.

But before she left out, her eyes drifted to her cellphone that rested on the nightstand beside her bed, still on its charger. She was tempted to call Shun, who had her back-up phone, and tell him about what had just happened to her. But it was in the middle of the day, and from what Shun had told her about Vampires, daytime was when they slept.

Alice didn't want to disturb him if he was, in fact, sleeping. So, she left her phone be and started back downstairs to the dinning hall before the others began to worry too much about her. When she got back to them, their eyes darted back to her as she sat back in her chair.

Marucho looked at her with worry-filled blue eyes and asked, "Is everything alright?" Alice smiled a half-true smile and told him, "Yeah. I just remembered that I had to call my grandfather. He's been so worried about me the past few weeks, with the killings going on in the city and all."

That wasn't a total lie. He had been worried about her. And, in fact, Alice was supposed to call him later in the day and let him know she was alright. But at that moment, she was going to use her grandfather's concern to get her out of having to explain why she suddenly ran off in the middle of their lunch.

"Ah, well, it's good you keep him so up-to-date with what's going on here, Alice. Anyway, finish up your lunch before it gets cold," Marucho told her as he ate the last bite of his meal. Alice glanced down at her own food, and felt her stomach do a small flip at the sight of it.

She must have lost her appetite while treating and fretting over the bite marks on her neck. Or maybe it was the sight of her own blood. That had never bothered her before, though, so why start now? Alice pushed the plate away from her and said to the short blond, "I think I'm done with my lunch, Marucho. You can tell Kato to throw it away or put it in the fridge. Whichever he feels like doing."

She could see the flashes of worry in her friends' eyes, and she didn't blame them for their reactions. Alice new her behavior had been strange to them the past few days, but she had her reasons for acting so weird. She had a secret to keep in order to protect a friend, and she would do whatever she had to in order to make sure that that secret never came into the light unless Shun said otherwise.

"Are you sure you're not going to eat anymore?" the short blond asked her. Alice nodded and said with a slight smile, "Yeah, I'm not all that hungry today for some reason." It scared Alice how easy it was starting to get to lie to her friends, people that she would have at one point told anything in the world, even her darkest of secrets.

But that was different now. She wasn't holding her own secret, she was holding Shun's, and he didn't want anyone else to know. Alice didn't blame him. If she had somehow become a Vampire, a blood-sucking creature of the night that could possibly harm those she cared about, she wouldn't want anyone else to know about it either.

She stood up, making sure to excuse herself from the table first, and left from the dinning hall. Alice wanted to get out from under her friends' stares that were drilling holes into her very core. She walked through the hallways of the massive house until she stopped at a window that looked out into the city.

Even though all of the buildings and streets looked the same as they did mere weeks ago, the city was different. It was changed by the brutal killings, killings that people didn't know where caused by the hands of Vampires. But the city had also changed due to the fact of how Alice looked at things now.

Her world had been changed with the existence of Vampires being real. She would never look at a random person on the street the same way again, for she would never know if they were human or something else entirely. It scared her, this uncertainty.

Alice rested her hand on the window's glass and leaned her forehead against the cool surface. She was close enough that her breath fogged up the glass each time she exhaled. But even though the city had changed, Alice still wanted to go out there, to stretch her legs and walk the streets that used to be so safe.

She wanted out of Marucho's massive house, she wanted to be able to breathe in the hot summer's air that had been promising of fun weeks with friends. Despite what many people may have thought, being cramped up in the massive mansion for over two weeks without being able to go outside, wasn't a pleasant thing.

After a while, the huge home started getting smaller and smaller, and the walls felt like they were starting to close in. If Alice didn't get out soon, she felt like she would eventually be crushed by the suffocating building. But she couldn't go out. It wasn't safe in the city.

Perhaps it was safer in the daylight, seeing as nobody had been killed during the day yet. But that fact didn't reassure people. The once busy streets below were almost desolate now as people stayed locked away in their homes, living in fear for their lives.

The only people that could be seen out in the streets now were police, or the people who desperately needed to work and earn money. Most of the businesses in the city had also closed down as well. The only things that remained opened were things like Walmarts or restaurants so people could gain access to food and other necessities.

_This city will never be the same, _Alice thought grimly to herself. The killings may stop, and life may go on as it had once done, but it would never be like it once was. The people would remain fearful, worried that the mass killings might happen again.

And they might; it was Vampires killing the people, after all. What would stop them from doing this all over again? Alice shook her head and sighed heavily as she continued to stare out at the city, a city that would live in infamy from now on. Even she knew that.

Alice knew that what had been happening the past couple weeks would never fade away. All of the blood and death would be remembered until the end of time, no matter how much people might try to remain ignorant to it.

What was in front of her, through the window, was no longer a normal city, a place of people that you'd pass by on the street and never see again. No. It was something else now.

It was a City of Blood, and everyone knew it. And that's what it would always been from there on out. Alice closed her eyes and stepped away from the window, then headed back down the hallway, leaving the sight of the City of Blood behind her.

* * *

hey, people! I'm back! Sorry for not uploading for over a week. I was gone out of town on vacation and was unable to write. But I'm back now, at least for about another week and a half.

Next Thursday you can expect there to be no uploads until July 12 or 13 because I will be out of country in Germany during that time for a band thing. I'm planning on finishing this story up before I leave, though.

Fingers crossed that I do. I'm estimating about six or eight more chapters maybe. I don't know. I'm bad at guessing stuff like that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little filler chapter.

It had a bit of major moment in there that will play into the story within the next couple of chapters; if I can figure out a way to work it in there. Well, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	36. The Art Of Breaking

_~O~_

Shun couldn't get back to sleep after that dream; not that he really wanted to. He was somewhat afraid to allow himself to fall back asleep, afraid that the dream would return and make him relive the horror of what he did to Alice all over again. But his mind and eyes were heavy with fatigue; he hadn't really gotten enough sleep the past couple of days.

He had been awake through an entire day, and most of last night while helping out with the training sessions before he fell into withdrawal. And then there was the couple of hours he had laid on the bathroom floor, unconscious from the bombardment of blood mixture he had pumped into his veins. Now, that horrible nightmare had ripped him awake as well, and for once, his body wasn't screaming for the drug like he had been almost nonstop.

No. Instead, it was begging for some sleep, a rest from being conscious and dealing with all of the stress and problems that the world brought along with it. But with those dreams, Shun didn't want to risk falling back asleep, only to have another nightmare like the one he had just had.

It had been so vivid, so lifelike. Shun recalled how when he woke up, it was like he could taste Alice's blood, as if he had really drained her of the life-giving fluid like he had done in the dream. That bothered Shun, but he didn't really know entirely why. But did he really have to have a reason to be bothered by waking up from a nightmare like he had had, and then tasting the blood that enticed him so much?

He didn't think so. Shun ran a hand through his hair and glanced down at the pillow beside him. The case and much of the pillow itself was ripped to shreds from where he had grabbed a hold of it in the midst of his nightmare and dug into it with his nails.

He made a mental note to ask Loran or Sinclair to find him a new pillow. Hopefully they wouldn't ask what happened to the old one; he didn't really feel like explaining how his pillow got torn to shreds. If he did, then that would involved delving back into that dream and revealing to Sinclair that he had been fantasizing about tasting the blood of one of his friends again, which, in turn, would tell the Vampire Lord that he had taken blood directly from the source.

And that wouldn't go over well for Shun, seeing as that was one of the few rules he had to follow. Shun sighed heavily and glanced over at a digital clock that rested on the nightstand beside his bed; it read two in the afternoon. Daytime. Everyone else was sound asleep, or, at least, should be.

The thought of walking around the enclave by himself, without running the risk of being seen or stopped by anyone enticed Shun. He could stand to get a bit of air or walk to try and clear his mind. Or there was something else he could do by taking advantage of the time; he could break into the supply room and take more blood mixture now.

He had used up the last of what he had stolen the first time, and he knew it wouldn't be much longer before his body craved more. So, this seemed like the perfect time to take care of this before it became a problem. Shun stood up from his bed, his legs wobbling a bit underneath the sudden weight that was placed on them.

But he held his balance and walked out of his room, making sure to glance down the hallways to make sure he was really alone. And, of course, he was. Shun started down the hallway. He would have to go through the main room and veer off down another hallway to get to Sinclair's study, where he would take the supply room key from its secret hiding spot, and then go back to the main room and turn down the hallway where the supply room was.

All of that would seem like too much work to some people, but most people also didn't understand Shun's situation. All of that work was worth it in the end, because it gave him what his body needed and provided him relief from the aches of want that came with going so long without the drug.

People just wouldn't understand. They would criticize him, call him a bad person because he was addicted. But it wasn't something that Shun could help now. It was well out of his control. He was at the mercy of his body and mind's cravings for the substance.

All he was, was the servant that fed the monsters to keep them quiet for just a bit longer before they wanted more. Shun held onto the sides of his arms when a chill slithered down them at the realization. No control. Out of control. Nothing more than another victim, that's what he was.

The thought brought a single tear to his eye, but he quickly pushed it back down before it had a chance to spill over and run down his face. Shun reached the main room, with its massive area of space, fancy paintings, and torches that hung on the walls and were lit with fire during the night to provide some light.

He was about to turn down the hallway that would take him down to Sinclair's study when he heard a voice behind him say, "Is the monster hungry again?" Shun tensed up. He knew the voice, of course, and turned around to face Zoran.

How did he keep forgetting that Zoran roamed the enclave during the day, acting like a person, a human? He was nothing of the sort, of course. He was a Vampire like everyone else there. Zoran narrowed his uncovered eye at Shun and said, "So, how much longer do you think till that monster breaks out?"

Shun returned the narrowed glare at Zoran. All the unstable Vampire spoke about were monsters. Nothing else. "I still find it hard to believe that a monster like you has been able to keep all of the things you've had. Your friends. Your family. You still have it all, while the rest of us have lost everything," the recluse Vampire snapped, and tears glittered in his eyes.

Shun knew what he was talking about, though. Zoran was referring to how he and his brother lost their family, how they fled from their abusive father. But Shun wasn't feeling any sympathy towards the Vampire now. If anything, he was growing sick of Zoran and his fear of monsters, even to the point that he could now see why their father abused the Vampire.

Just like Shun, their father had probably grown tired of the headache Zoran gave him by speaking openly of his fear and hatred of 'monsters,' and he didn't blame him. Shun knew that those thoughts probably made him a bad person, but he was far past caring at the moment.

He was on edge from the restless sleep he had been getting, the nightmares, and the drugs. Shun was not in the mood to be messed with, much less tolerate Zoran dogging him about being a monster. Monster this. Monster that. Shun was truly and utterly sick of it.

_How can Loran deal with that? How can any of them deal with it? _Shun silently asked himself. Zoran stepped the rest of the way from his shadows and said, "I'm still going to wait, though, and see what kind of monster emerges from you. I want to see how you look when you realize what you really are…It's always been amusing to me to see the expressions of Vampires like you when they finally see that they are something horrible….Although, many still don't ever accept that they are monsters, beasts disguised as humans….That still sickens me….Why can't they see that what they are, are creatures that hardly deserve to exist? Why?"

It was like Zoran was asking Shun that question, but Shun knew better. He knew the Vampire was just drabbling on to himself, asking himself those rhetorical questions with no answers.

Zoran then turned his attention back to Shun and said harshly, "Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep on destroying yourself like you are. Continue to erode that wall that holds that monster inside until it's able to break free, because I'm eager to see how it will tear you to pieces. And after that, there will be one less scourge left to plague this world."

That had done it. That had been the last straw, the last nerve. Shun had had enough of this. Before he could even realize what he was doing, he found himself running at Zoran, and his hands wrapped tightly around the Vampire's small throat as he pinned him down on the cold ground. The turtle-neck like shirt that Zoran wore to cover half of his face fell down, revealing what he always kept hidden; his fangs.

There were scars on his face, more than likely from abuse from their father, but Shun could care less. He wanted to shut the whining Vampire up, to silence him. He could hear cartilage popping as Shun applied more force to the chokehold he had on the Vampire's throat.

And much to the raven-haired teen's surprise, a low, almost feral growl escaped from the back of his throat. This caught him off guard, and caused him to loosen his grip on the Vampire's throat. Next thing Shun knew, Zoran had worked his feet underneath him and kicked Shun off of him.

The raven-haired teen fell backwards, landing on the hard ground. Shun quickly scrambled back up to his feet, and found that Zoran had done the same. For somebody that was made out and acted so docile, Shun hadn't expected any fight from the Vampire.

Zoran scowled, revealing razor-sharp fangs that he tried to hide from the world. "I don't like to fight. That's what animals do, and I'm no animal. But it looks like you're leaving me little choice but to stood to such a low and filthy level," the Vampire said harshly.

Shun narrowed his eyes further and growled again before charging back at Zoran. The two met halfway, locked in hand-to-hand combat. Shun was genuinely surprised by how much fighting skill Zoran really had; the Vampire was holding his own very well. But Shun had the advantage in speed, as Zoran was having a bit of trouble keeping up with him.

The raven-haired teen had worked his way behind Zoran and grabbed hold of the Vampire's wrist, pulling him down to the ground. Shun was about to latch back onto Zoran's neck, but when he looked down, he found that his target was gone.

He began to look around frantically. Then, over towards a far corner of the main room, Shun noticed that shadows had began to circle around like smoke, and they then formed together and Zoran materialized from there. _He's got powers? _

Shun suddenly felt a bit unsure about just how well he could hold his own against Zoran; it was clear that the raven-haired teen had seriously underestimated his opponent. "Monsters are no different than animals. They'll fight as long as they think they can win, but the moment they realize that their opponent might be stronger than them, they go on the offense and try to back down," Zoran said stoically.

Shun felt his anger bubble back up a bit again. He was sick of Zoran acting like he knew everything about him, of acting as if Shun were an open book, so easy to read. So easy to predict. It was really beginning to grind on his nerves. Shun tightened his jaw and growled again.

He wanted to put Zoran in his place, to put an end to that superiority complex. He tightened his hands into fists at his sides. The anger and rage that had been building up for the past several days felt like it was seething up to the surface. The anger at himself, the anger at how weak he was towards the drug, and the anger at this whole new and unfair life he had been thrown into were the most prominent.

Those three fueled the fire that raged inside of him the most. Shun shut his eyes tightly and let out of cry of aggravation. When he snapped his eyes open, it was like a powerful rush of air or a sonic blast shot towards Zoran, slamming the Vampire into the cavernous wall with enough force to actually knock a torch off its holder.

Zoran slid down the wall and fell to the floor, holding onto his sides and groaning in pain. Shun felt his eyes widen. What had just happened? Had he done that? If he had, then how? Zoran was trying to get up to his feet, but not without some difficulty.

And if things couldn't have gotten any worse, Sinclair, Alucard, and Loran rushed into the main room. "What the hell is going on in here? It's three in the afternoon, for God's sake! Sane people are trying to sleep!" the Vampire Lord shouted, but when his eyes fell onto the scene before him, his own eyes widened a bit in surprise. Sinclair quite obviously wasn't expecting to find himself faced with the remnants of a fight between Shun and Zoran.

Loran's gray eyes fell onto his brother, who was leaning against the rocky wall for support. "Zoran!" he shouted and hurried over to his brother, helping support him on his feet and making sure he was alright. Sinclair glanced back and forth between the two Vampires and asked harshly, "What the hell went on in here? Tell me. I want to know right now."

The anger in the Vampire Lord's voice was enough to shoot a chill down Shun's spine. Loran helped his injured brother towards the center of the room to rejoin with Sinclair and Alucard, only a few feet from Shun. Zoran then glanced up and said coldly, "This is why monsters are unable to live civilized. They're nothing but animals."

Shun felt his anger spark up again and he dove for Zoran; the Vampire did the same thing. But Loran held his brother back, and Alucard stepped in and kept Shun at bay. The two of them shot cold glares at each other while being held apart. Loran shook his head and said with disbelief, "Zoran, what's gotten into you? This isn't like you. Calm down."

But Zoran ignored his brother and only kept his death glare on Shun. Sinclair shook his head and said, "Alright, that's enough! Both of you, to my study right now. We'll get this sorted out there." Loran and Alucard stood between Shun and Zoran to keep them from diving at each other again as they made their way to Sinclair's study.

Shun found it ironic that the study had been where he was going anywhere. He didn't like that he was going there now under these kinds of circumstances, seeing as he knew he would probably have to face Sinclair's anger. They reached the study and Sinclair leaned against his desk and asked flatly, "Alright, now talk. What the hell was that back there? Fighting like that is severely looked down upon here."

Shun wondered how to tell Sinclair what happened. True, he had thrown the first punch, but only because Zoran had been provoking him. Plus, he would probably have to explain what he was doing out of his room during the day, especially when he had supposedly been 'sick' a few hours ago.

Shun bit down nervously on his lower lip. This wasn't looking good for him. Zoran spoke up and said, "It's simple, really. He's a monster like the rest of us, and I was doing nothing more than reminding him of that….He's the one who took it farther than needed."

The raven-haired teen dove for Zoran again as his anger spiked again. Shun couldn't believe this. How could this be the innocent, scared brother that Loran looked out for all the time, the one he defended and wanted to make a better world for?

And by Loran's expression, Shun could tell the gray-haired Vampire was wondering the same thing. Alucard held Shun back, but the raven-haired teen struggled against the second-in-command's hold and almost reached Zoran when he felt a sharp sting spread through his face.

The force had been enough to knock Shun from Alucard's hold and onto the floor, knocking over a chair in the process. The raven-haired teen clutched the stinging side of his face and looked up to find Sinclair shooting a hostile glare down at him; the Vampire Lord's hand was raised and starting to turn red.

It had been Sinclair. Sinclair had stuck him. "That is enough!" he bellowed, "I suggest you leave now, Shun, seeing as blood is bad enough between you two at the moment to where you both can't be in the same room. So, I have no choice but to ask both of you what happened separately. Now, leave this study and wait until you are called back in here to give your explanation. Understood?"

Shun adverted his gaze from Sinclair and said, "Understood, Sir." He then stood up and left out of the study as he had been asked; no point in further angering the Vampire Lord and getting something worse than a mere slap to the face.

Shun just hated that he would probably end up receiving the punishment for this. It wasn't entirely his fault that Zoran had started saying those things while Shun had been teetering on the edge of his own sanity. He couldn't help that he had snapped and Zoran just happened to be the only one standing there, on top of being the one who also helped to finally push him over the edge.

Shun walked back to his room and slammed the door closed behind him with enough force that a picture rattled on the wall beside him. He then strode over to the dresser that leaned against the wall, and looked into the mirror that rested on top of it. His amber eyes still blazed with anger.

Shun ran a hand through his hair. What if all of his secrets came into the light now? What if, in an attempt to get in another shot at him, Zoran told Sinclair about how Shun had been breaking into the supply room and stealing blood mixtures for his addiction? It would all be game over then.

He looked back into the mirror at his reflection, of the person he could hardly recognize now. The sight before Shun sickened himself. He growled and tightened his hands into fists at his sides, and next thing he knew, the mirror in front of him spilt into several large pieces, sending cracks running down the reflective glass.

Shun jumped back and stared at the mirror in surprise. He hadn't even touched the glass, but it looked as if he or somebody else had thrown a punch right in the center and shattered the mirror. Shun stumbled back until he found his bed, where he sat on the edge of the mattress and buried his hands into his hair.

"I'm losing my mind…..I'm losing my mind…..," he repeated to himself over and over again. His eyes then drifted over to the phone on the nightstand, the one that Alice had given him. He found himself reaching for it and now holding it in his hands, staring at the time on the screen; it read ten minutes before five.

He wanted to talk to her. No. He _needed _to talk to her. Shun remembered how close to losing it he felt before he told her the truth about what he was now, and he then recalled the elated feeling he had afterwards when the weight was off his shoulders.

Alice could help. She could help to provide him some solace and maybe keep him right in his mind, if not for just a little bit longer before he completely lost it. Shun swiped the phone unlocked and began to scroll through for her number.

_~O~_

"So, he just attacked you for what you said?" Sinclair asked Zoran once the Vampire finished telling his side of the story. Zoran nodded and said, "I was speaking the truth. Apparently he can't handle it." Sinclair could kind of understand why this had provoked Shun.

Zoran had been known to sometimes voice his opinions a bit too much, especially towards those who he feared or didn't trust. It was like a defense mechanism for the young Vampire, if that made any sense. But just because Shun might have grown tired of listening to Zoran's rants, didn't give him any right to start an altercation, even if he was provoked.

Zoran grimaced as he shifted around in his chair, which Sinclair noticed. "Is something wrong? Are you hurt?" the Vampire Lord asked. Upon bringing the two Vampires to the study, they had asked Zoran if he was hurt, seeing as he had been struggling to get to his own feet.

He had said no, naturally. The young Vampire adverted his gaze and said, "Just a bit sore from where I was thrown into the wall." Sinclair raised an eyebrow and said, "Thrown into the wall?" Zoran nodded and explained, "Yeah. Right before you guys showed up. Shun had landed the last hit by slamming me into the wall with some kind of invisible force. He seemed just as surprised by it as I was."

Sinclair felt his worry build a bit, but he didn't want to show it just yet. Instead, he nodded his head and said, "I see. Well, Zoran, I think I've heard enough. It's time I hear Shun's side of the story. You can leave now." Zoran nodded and left out of the room.

Right after that, Loran stood up and asked, "Can I be excused as well? I want to speak to my brother in private." Sinclair nodded and permitted Loran's request. The gray-haired Vampire hurried out of the room. Sinclair ran a hand through his hair, allowing his worry to finally show, and turned to Alucard and asked, "Did you hear the last thing Zoran said?"

Alucard nodded once. "Yeah, I did, Sir," the second-in-command said flatly. Sinclair pushed himself from the edge of his desk, which he had been leaning on, and started to pace the room. "I didn't think he'd develop my telekinetic powers. I thought it might just stop at my speed and strength. Not my mental powers that are meant to be my birthright alone," Sinclair said darkly.

He honestly didn't think Shun would develop those powers. He figured strength and speed, seeing as that was something common to any Vampire. But the telekinesis, which was a trait strictly reserved to Sinclair and his bloodline, hadn't even crossed his mind as a possibility.

He didn't even know it was possible for a Turned-Vampire to obtain a power that was passed down only by birthright. Alucard picked up on Sinclair's distress and said, "Sir, you have to remember that he was the first human you've ever Turned, and he survived the Transition. That means he received the strongest, most potent dose of your blood that you'd ever be able to give to a mere human. Most humans don't even live through a Transition like he did. They usually die."

Alucard had a point. Sinclair's blood, being that it was pure and remained untouched for hundreds of years, was potent and strong. It was very possible because of that, and the fact that Shun survived that Transition, that he might develop powers that most humans that are Turned would never gain.

Sinclair bit down on his thumbnail and said, "If this is the case, then that means he probably received more than a small fraction of my strength like I thought. He might have more like half of my strength and powers. That would make him stronger than most of the Vampires in the Clan, if not all of them."

Other than Sinclair himself, of course. Another thought crossed the Vampire Lord's mind. "He might even be one of the strongest Turned Vampires that's been around for hundreds of years," he said, surprised by the disbelief that was in his own voice. Sinclair recalled the last Turned Vampire that was that powerful.

That Vampire had had the gall to challenge the Society, and had almost succeeded in taking them down. It was only because of Pureblooded, Noble Vampires like Sinclair and his parents that had been able to take the Turned Vampire down and stop him.

After that, some rather strict new rules had been placed on Vampires concerning the Turning of humans. In fact, it almost made the act illegal. But when the Vampire population started to dwindle, it became common practice again. Sinclair didn't know how he felt about being responsible for possibly creating the first strongest Turned Vampire in all these years.

He shook his head and told Alucard, "Bring Shun in. I'm ready to hear his story." The second-in-command nodded and left out of the study, leaving Sinclair alone to his thoughts for a little while. The Vampire Lord knew what he was going to do when Shun got there.

First, he would ask for the raven-haired teen's explanation, and then he would confront him about the telekinetic powers that had suddenly surfaced. And, depending on how strong they were and how much control Shun had on them, would determine if Sinclair would have to spend time and help Shun gain control over them.

But when Alucard returned to the study fifteen minutes later, Sinclair noticed that Shun wasn't with the second-in-command. "Where's Shun, Alucard?" he asked, panic rising a bit in his voice.

Alucard shook his head and told him, "I can't find him anywhere in the enclave. He's gone, Sir. I looked everywhere. It appears he's run off." Sinclair leaned back against his desk in disbelief and muttered to himself, "What the hell is going on here…."

* * *

_chapter title based off the song The Art of Breaking by Thousand Foot Krutch. _long chapter, huh? There's still a lot more that is going on right now in the story that I wanted to include in this chapter, but they'll be put in the next one for time's sake. There's going to be a part between Zoran and Loran where a lot of stuff is said and happens. And then there's Shun's little disappearance he just pulled. That will all go down tomorrow. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	37. Falls Apart

_~O~_

"Zoran! Zoran, wait up!" Loran called out to his brother. Zoran stopped walking and turned around. Loran noticed that Zoran had covered his face up again with the overly-long neck of his shirt. It had surprised the gray-haired Vampire when he saw his brother with his face and fangs exposed earlier; Zoran never uncovered his face.

"What is it?" Zoran asked, his voice a bit colder than Loran was accustomed to. But Loran ignored that hostility in his brother's voice and said, "I was just checking on you. You weren't acting like yourself back there….." Zoran's behavior back in the main room and in Sinclair's study had been completely out of character from what Loran was used to seeing.

Loran was used to seeing his brother hide in the shadows and make himself scarce. But Zoran actually getting into a fight had been a total shock to him. Loran placed a supportive hand on his brother's shoulder and said, "If there's something wrong, you can tell me. You know that, Zoran. I'm here to help you if you ever need it."

Loran knew he was the only person, other than Alucard, that Zoran trusted enough to confide in. So, it was somewhat hurtful to the gray-haired Vampire to know that his own brother, his own flesh and blood, wasn't coming to him for help when he so obviously needed it. Zoran glanced down at Loran's hand on his shoulder, and brushed it off.

"I don't need any help," he said bitterly and started walking down the hall again. Loran stood there, rooted in his place for a moment while the shock wore off. When he fell back to his senses, he chased after Zoran again. "Zoran! Stop! Talk to me!" he said and stood in front of his brother, blocking his path of travel down the hallway.

Loran didn't like seeing his brother like this. Zoran narrowed his uncovered eye at Loran and said harshly, "Alright, I'll talk. I'm sick of all this." Loran staggered back a bit from surprise, but also to give his brother some space; it was quite obvious he needed it at the moment.

"What do you me, Zoran?" the gray-haired Vampire asked. Zoran began to laugh, something that Loran hadn't heard his brother do in many years, and said, "Everything. I'm sick of everything. I'm sick of these monsters that I am forced to live around, all because you think I am unable to hold my own and take care of myself in the world that you try to shelter me from, while you let people walk all over you in an attempt to peacefully make that damn world for me."

Loran was speechless. He had never seen this side of Zoran; the only side he had seen, was the docile, frightened side that had been there since they were kids.

Zoran began to shake his head and said, "Well, you know what? I'm tired of sitting by and waiting for you to create that world for me to live in with your naïve methods. I've known for years that this world will never change. It will always be cruel and unforgiving, just like it is to that human that was Turned by Sinclair, the one that you wanted to save from being needlessly killed, when in all actuality he's done more damage to himself by living."

Zoran's words then struck Loran; he was talking about Shun. "What do you mean?" Loran asked, trying to figure out what his brother was talking about, "What about Shun?" Zoran shot a disapproving glare at his brother and said, "Always so clueless to the world, brother. You only see it the way that you want, and that leaves you blind while I see it for what it has always been. If you weren't so ignorant, you would have been able to notice how that monster…..Shun…..Has been destroying himself all this time."

Loran was still shocked by all of the things Zoran was saying, but he was pushing them to the side. Right now, he wanted to know what was wrong with Shun. "What do you mean? Is he sick or something?" the gray-haired Vampire asked, but his question only seemed to earn him a chuckle from Zoran.

His brother's expression fell to one of seriousness as he said, "He's been sneaking into the supply rooms, stealing blood mixtures to feed his addiction that's been slowly eating away at him." Loran felt his eyes widen. He thought about all of the times that Shun suddenly fell ill, or would act strange.

The gray-haired Vampire had always just attributed it to something like stress of the weight that had been placed on the raven-haired teen's shoulders so suddenly. Addiction was the last thing that had crossed his mind, and now that he knew the truth, Loran couldn't help but agree with his brother's statement about him being ignorant to the world.

It was true; Loran only saw what he wanted to see. "Oh, God," he said under his breath. Loran knew he had to tell Sinclair this. They had to try and help Shun. But Loran became worried at what Sinclair might do to Shun when the Vampire Lord discovered that he had been stolen from.

He decided not to dwell on that thought for very long. Loran looked back up at his brother and told him, "I didn't think you felt like that about all of this." He motioned to the cavernous walls around him. Loran had thought that the enclave and being under Sinclair's watch was the best thing possible for his brother.

He knew that in the Clan that Zoran would be safe, shielded from the world that always hurt him. Loran couldn't have been more wrong.

Zoran frowned and said coldly, "You'd know if you bothered to ever ask me what I really wanted, rather than taking my life into your own hands and doing what you thought I wanted. But I've had enough of that. I'm not going to stand in the shadows anymore and back down like the helpless soul you've made me out to be. I'm tired of standing down and being viewed as weak and helpless. No more. I'm going to fight back from now on. I'm going to make my own world worth living in on my own with my own methods, not yours, brother."

Zoran walked around a stunned Loran and didn't say another word as he vanished from sight down the hallway. Loran, still shocked, leaned against the wall and tried to absorb what had just happened. Had he really been wrong in what he was trying to do for Zoran?

Had he done more damage than help? Loran didn't know anymore. All of the things he had done all these years had been in the best intentions, in the name of helping his brother.

Loran ran a hand through his gray hair and pushed himself off the wall. He then began to walk down the hall, in the opposite direction of his brother, to find Sinclair and inform the Vampire Lord about the dark discovery that he had just learned from Zoran.

_~O~_

Alice had jumped when her phone suddenly began to ring and buzz on the nightstand. At the time, she had been gathering her dirty clothes so Kato could take them and wash them, so she had an armful of shirts and pants in her hands.

Alice quickly sat the clothes down on her bed and picked up her phone. She felt her breath hitch; the caller ID was from her back-up phone. _Shun, _she thought to herself and unconsciously brought her hand up to her neck and touched the location of the two puncture wounds.

She snapped back into focus and answered the call. "Hello?" she said and sat down on her bed, beside the mountain of clothes. "Hey," Shun said back. Alice noticed his voice didn't sound as steady as it usually was. She felt her concern build and she asked, "Is everything alright?" There was a short pause before Shun responded back.

"Not exactly…," he said softly through the other side of the phone. Alice stood up and began to pace around her room, a habit that she had whenever she knew she would be on the phone for a while. "What's wrong?" she asked as she trailed her hand along the wooden surface of a dresser.

This was the reason she had given Shun her back-up cellphone, just in case a time rose when something was wrong, or if he just wanted somebody to talk to. And at the moment, it seemed like it had been a really good idea.

She heard Shun take in a deep breath before he finally said, "There's…..There's a lot going on where I'm at, too much for me to really go into detail on…..And I really…..I really need to get my mind off of those things before I snap….."

Alice felt her heart ache for Shun. He sounded so tormented, so hurt; she couldn't even begin to imagine what was happening to him now. "You can tell me what's wrong, Shun," Alice told him, even though she was sure he already knew that. She half-expected there to be another pause in their conversation, but she was proven wrong when Shun told her, "I….I was kind of hoping to see you tonight….Walk around the city and get some fresh air to help and clear my mind, you know…."

Alice tensed up. "Tonight? You mean…..In the city….At night?" she asked and suddenly felt like that was the stupidest thing that could have come out of her mouth. Of course he meant at night. But that wasn't exactly what she was getting at.

"Yes," Shun replied. Alice made her way over to her window and glanced at the cityscape and at the setting sun. "But, Shun, there's Vam-" She cut herself off before the rest of the word could escape her lips. He finished the sentence for her.

"Vampires, I know. But I promise you they won't hurt you as long as you're with me. I won't let them hurt you," he told her. And Alice knew he meant it. He would keep her safe from the creatures that threatened innocent people at night. But she was still apprehensive about going out into the city at night; it just wasn't safe. Alice hadn't realized that she had been silent for a while until she heard Shun's voice again.

"Please, Alice," he begged through the phone. He wanted to see her. He wanted to talk to her. Who was she to deny him such a simple request? Alice touched the puncture wounds on her neck, which were still covered with a band-aid, and said, "Alright, Shun. But we'll have to meet up after the others go to bed, or else they won't let me leave." Alice could almost see the smile that she knew Shun had on his face.

"Alright. We'll meet up at the park….And, Alice…..Thank you," he told her before hanging up the phone and ending the call. Alice slowly lowered her phone down and stared at her home screen's wallpaper of her, Runo, and Julie.

She locked the screen and brought the phone up to her chest and held it close as she thought about what she had just agreed to. She was going to go out into the city, at night, the time when the Vampires roamed about and killed any living thing that moved.

_But I'll have Shun with me. He'll keep me safe, _Alice reassured herself. She did feel safe with Shun beside her, she always had. She thought back to several nights ago, after she had allowed him to take her blood, and how that had been the first night Alice felt secure enough to turn the lights out in her room since the killings began.

She knew as long as Shun was with her, nothing bad would happen, that he wouldn't allow anything to lay a hand on her. With those reassuring thoughts in her mind, Alice told herself that she should enjoy the night. Not only was her little outing going to be for Shun's benefit, but also for her own.

It would give her a chance to get out of the house that had started to feel too small. She could breathe in fresh air from somewhere other than the windows. The thought brought a smile to her face.

Alice set her phone back on her nightstand and went over to her bed, where she scooped up the pile of clothes that she had been holding onto when her phone rang. She held the wrinkled shirts and pairs of jeans tightly in her arms as she left from her room and carried them downstairs to the Marakura's laundry room.

_~O~_

"What?" Sinclair said in disbelief. Loran stood in front of the desk that the Vampire Lord sat behind and nodded slowly. "You heard me right, Sir. Shun's been breaking into the supply room and taking blood mixtures for his own use," Loran repeated.

Sinclair ran a hand through his golden hair, which had begun to feel thinner the past couple of days from all of the stress, or it might have just been his own imagination. Alucard folded his arms over his chest and said, "I've noticed something has been up with him as of late, but I couldn't figure out what. I suppose I thought like everyone else and assumed it was nothing but stress weighing him down."

Sinclair glanced back at Loran. The Vampire Lord had taken notice of the grim expression that Loran had worn upon entering the study, and he had a feeling that expression wasn't from finding out about Shun's addiction. But Sinclair didn't want to pry in the affairs of the gray-haired Vampire just yet; he'd wait till later to do that.

Loran took a deep breath and wore a determined expression like he usually had on and said, "We need to help Shun. He's become too much of a valuable asset for us to lose now, especially seeing as we're getting ready for our confrontation with Alexander." Sinclair's lips turned down into a frown.

He shook his head and told Loran, "I'm afraid we can't do that right now." Loran's raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why not, Sir? We can't afford to wait too much longer to get him help. If we do, we might not be able to do anything for him," the gray-haired Vampire said frantically.

As if on cue, Alucard spoke up and said, "He's gone. I went to bring him here to the study so he could speak with Sinclair, and he's not in his room. He's not anywhere in the enclave, and we haven't the slightest idea as to where he has gone."

Sinclair nodded grimly and added, "So, all we can do is wait till he returns to the enclave to confront him." Loran sighed heavily and sat down in a chair; the Vampire looked immensely worn out. Alucard leaned against Sinclair's desk and asked, "Would cleansing Shun's blood even help at this point?" Sinclair thought about it. If Shun had been stealing and using the blood mixtures for as long as Loran told them, then there would be a decent build-up in the raven-haired teen's bloodstream.

And their method for cleaning out impurities from a Vampire's blood, via transfusion through IV line, was questionable at this point. Sinclair thought about how they cleaned out the dose of Alexander's drug that had been forced into Shun.

That had only been one shot, and it had taken a while to get all of the drug out of his system. Sinclair didn't even want to think about how long removing this much of the drug it would take. They were looking at days, maybe even weeks till the raven-haired teen was remotely better.

"All we can do is wait and see how all of this plays out," Sinclair stated flatly. The Vampire Lord then stood up from his desk, strode across the room to his bottle of blood, and poured him a glass. He tilted the glass back and drank it all in one go.

The crimson liquid warmed his body on the way down; Sinclair hadn't even realized he had been that thirsty. But with all of the madness that was going on outside, and now inside, of his Clan, he had paid himself little attention. As Sinclair poured him another glass, he didn't take his gaze from the blood as he said, "Alucard. Loran. If you two don't mind, I would appreciate some time to myself to think all of these problems over."

Loran nodded and left out of the room without question, but Alucard lingered for a bit. "Are you sure, Sir?" he asked. Sinclair's lips turned up to a small grin. _Alucard…..Faithful, Alucard. _He turned to meet the worried face of his second-in-command and told him, "Yes, I'm sure. You are dismissed for right now, Alucard. Go and get yourself some rest, or a drink of blood in the meantime."

Alucard appeared a bit reluctant at first, but he knew there was no point in defying his superior's orders, and left out. Now, Sinclair was alone in his study, and the silence was almost deafening; he had grown so accustomed to the sounds of panic and sheer chaos over the past several weeks.

Now, peace and quiet could probably run him crazy if he let it. Sinclair sat back down at his desk and stared at his half-full glass. There were so many problems stacking up in front of the Vampire Lord. There was the biggest problem, being Alexander.

Then, there was the matter of the Blight epidemic and the possible involvement of the Society, on top of the stress of training his underlings for the upcoming fight. Now, there appeared to be some discontent in his Clan, on top of Shun's deadly addiction that had just been revealed to him.

Sinclair sighed and stared down at the crystal glass of blood in front of him. His anger was boiling around inside of him, and he narrowed his eyes at the glass. Next thing he knew, the glass shattered, sending shards flying into the air; one piece flew past his face and grazed his cheek, drawing some of his own blood.

The crimson liquid in the glass flew into the air, splattering the walls and his desk. Sinclair brought his hand up to the cut on his face and wiped the blood away with his fingertips. He then stared at it for a moment before bringing his blood-covered fingers up to his lips, where he licked the blood off.

* * *

_chapter title based off the song Falls Apart by Thousand Foot Krutch. _Okay, so i came up with an idea for a sequel to this story, even though i wasn't planning on one. -.- way to go, overly creative brain.

It would just work out better if I made a sequel, seeing as I don't really have a solid idea of how to end this story, and I haven't done a sequel in a while; i think the last one I did was for my zombie fic.

Anyway, I have the full cover to the sequel on my profile, and the song that I'm going to base it off of under my Youtube links. Check em out. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	38. Unforgivable

_~O~_

Alice had hurried to the park the moment that she was sure the others were sound asleep and wouldn't notice her sudden absence. She could just see how they would react if they discovered that she had gone out in the city at night, when things were at its most dangerous.

_They'd flip out if they ever found out. _Alice reached the park, relieved to find that all of the streetlights were on, chasing away the shadows that could house those that would want to cause her harm. She began to look around for Shun, to see if he was already there.

And he was. He was sitting on a nearby bench, not quite in the light of a streetlamp, but not in the shadows either. Alice found herself smiling a bit. The previous tension she had had about going out in the city at night, started to melt away when she saw him; she was already feeling safer.

"Hey," she called out. Shun turned his gaze to her, and a small smile played on his lips as he strode up to her. "Hey," he said back, "Thanks for doing this, Alice. I know you didn't want to come out into the city at this time, but I really needed to distract myself for a bit."

Alice smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing, really. I don't mind it. If anything, it feels good to get out of Marucho's house after all of this time," she said honestly. Shun nodded. "Very well, then." He started walking down the sidewalk, and Alice hurried after him. When she had caught up to him, she asked, "So, where are we going?" It was a good question.

Since the killings started, not a lot of businesses stayed open once the sun fell. Only a few restaurants kept their lights on, or superstores like Walmart and such; places that had to be open for the public at all times. Shun shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. Anywhere is fine with me."

Alice chanced a quick glance up at Shun. She thought he looked even paler than last time, and his eyes seemed to reflect the unsteady tone in his voice that she had heard over the phone. She also took note of the black jacket he had on.

"The sun isn't out now. There isn't really much of need for that jacket, is there?" she asked casually. Shun glanced down at the long sleeves of the jacket and finally said, "I just threw it on, in case it got cold tonight." Alice knew how drastically the temperature dropped at night during the summer as the world cooled down from the sun's unforgiving rays, but it was never cold enough for a jacket.

She pushed her growing suspicions away; this wasn't time for her to be asking him question or persecuting him about anything, it was time to provide him some relief from the stress that his new life had placed on him. They walked along the sidewalks for a bit before Alice caught sight of a small diner that was still open, even though it appeared there were no other customers inside.

Upon seeing the diner, she realized that she was a bit hungry; she hadn't really eaten a lot at dinner that night at Marucho's. Alice turned to Shun and asked him, "Do you mind if we stop and get something to eat?" Alice couldn't help but wonder, now that Shun was a Vampire, if he had to even eat food to survive, or if he could get everything he needed from blood.

With that thought, the puncture wounds on Alice's neck throbbed a bit and she brought her hand up to touch them. Before leaving Marucho's, she had taken the band-aids off the two, small holes and saw that they had healed back over almost completely; all that remained were two dark spots that could have passed as a scar or something similar.

"I don't mind," he told her. Alice nodded and followed him across the street to the diner. A bell above the door chimed as they entered, and the waiter behind the counter suddenly tensed up, obviously ready to act in case the two of them were there to kill him.

To reassure the frightened man, Alice told him, "We're not here to cause any trouble. Just here to get something to eat." The man appeared to ease up a bit, but still remained apprehensive. Alice didn't blame him. It had probably been weeks since anyone came into the diner late at night for something to eat.

So, it was only natural to assume that whoever might come in now meant to harm people. The waiter stepped out from around the counter and approached their table, a small notepad in his hands. "Do you have any idea what you two might like?" he asked calmly, even though his slightly trembling hands betrayed the confidence in his voice.

Alice glanced down at the menu in front of her and said, "I think I'll just have a small salad, dressing on the side. And a glass of water, if that's alright?" The waiter nodded and turned his attention over to Shun. "And you, sir?" Shun glanced up at the man and said, "Just some water to drink."

The waited nodded again and retreated back into the kitchen to fill their orders. When Alice was sure the waiter was well out of earshot, she leaned a bit closer across the table and asked Shun, "Did you…..You know? Drink any blood before you left?"

Shun rested his elbows on the table and told her, "Don't worry about me falling into Bloodlust like last time. I should be fine." Alice realized how he had taken her question and quickly corrected herself. "That's not exactly what I meant, but that's good to know. What I meant was that you don't look all that well, and I was wondering if you had gotten enough," she explained.

To most people, having a conversation about the consumption of blood would have been strange, taboo even. But even though it was still a bit odd, it didn't bother her. She knew this was now a part of Shun's life, and she accepted it. If Alice didn't, then who would?

She was the only person that knew about Shun, which meant that she was the only person that he could openly talk about this to as well. So, Alice pushed aside the strangeness of the kinds of topics they were on at the moment.

Shun leaned back in his chair and said, "I assure you I've had enough for the night. I'm just worn down from all of the stress…" Alice then remembered why Shun had called her and asked to see her; to get his mind off of some things that were happening. "You mentioned about a lot of things were going on…..Do you want to tell me about it? You know you can," she told him.

Their waiter suddenly appeared at their table and set down their drinks and the salad that Alice had ordered. They thanked the man, and he went on his way. Shun stared down at his glass of water and wiped away some of the sweat on the side of the plastic glass.

"Let's just say I've been under a bit of stress lately, and I finally couldn't take it anymore and got into a bit of a fight with another Clan member…..It's nothing really major…..I just needed to get out of their and cool down some before I did something stupid." Alice nodded and took a bite of her salad.

She knew Shun wasn't being entirely honest with her at the moment, but at the same time, he wasn't really lying either. It was more like he was tweaking the truth, not letting it all out but remaining honest. Alice decided not to press him for the truth; if he wanted her to know, then he'd tell her.

She was his confidant, after all. He could tell her anything. They sat in the diner for about fifteen more minutes while Alice finished her small meal, and after a bit of determining on who would paid the five dollar bill, Shun won. The waiter collected their money and thanked them for their business on the way out.

The two of them now stood outside in the cool night air. Alice took in a deep breath of it, and reluctantly exhaled it. It was so nice to be out of the house after all of these weeks. She knew staying locked up there with the others was for her own safety, but it had been getting to the point of driving her crazy.

"Alright, then. Now where to?" she asked. There wasn't really much else they could go to at this time of night. To be honest, Alice had been surprised they found that diner open. Shun tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and told her, "I don't know. How about we just walk for a bit?"

Alice smiled and nodded. It sounded good to her if it meant helping Shun out, even if it was only a small thing as walking along beside him. They started down the sidewalk again, sticking close to the lights casted by the streetlamps.

After a bit of walking, Shun suddenly said, "I just want to thank you again for this. It really does mean a lot to me." Alice smiled as a bit of pride welled up inside of her. She was truly glad that she could help Shun in his time of need. "It's no problem, Shun. I'm here for you whenever you need me, just remember that," she told him.

Up above, on the rooftops, Alice thought she heard something run across. She stopped walking and looked up, only to find nothing there. Shun stopped along beside her and asked, "What is it?" Alice shook her head and told him, "I….I thought I heard something. Must be on edge more than I thought I was."

Shun rested his hand on her shoulder and told her, "You have no reason to worry. I won't let anything try and hurt you." Alice touched the hand he placed on her shoulder and said under her breath, "I know, Shun." The little moment of panic she had felt seconds ago, slowly melted away and vanished with Shun's reassuring words and touch.

She then noticed something as her hand rested on his for that short moment; he was trembling ever so slightly. Alice probably wouldn't have noticed just by looking at him, but she could just barely feel his fingers and hand quivering. Her worry began to mount.

"Is something wrong? You're trembling, Shun," she said to him. Shun instantly pulled his hand off of her shoulder and stuffed them inside his jacket pockets. "Yeah, I'm fine," he told her and smiled slightly to reassure her. But Alice knew better. She knew something was wrong.

It couldn't have been his Bloodlust, though, because he hadn't acted like this at the time. When he had been starving for blood, he had been in nothing short of pain and in tears. A slight tremble in his hands told her that it was something else entirely. "Come on. Let's keep on walking. It's not safe to stay in one place for too long," he said to her. Alice didn't mention anything else about the trembling in his hands, and followed after him.

Several more times, Alice thought she heard something running along the rooftops overhead, and every time she looked, there was nothing there. They then came to a spot that was shadowed by lack of streetlights, and Alice felt her heart speed up a bit with anxiety.

She wanted back in the light, where she knew it was somewhat safer. They walked past an alley between two buildings, and suddenly Shun tensed up. He threw his arm out and pushed Alice behind him. "Get back!" he snapped at her.

Before she could ask what was going on, she saw the savage, glowing red eyes in the darkness, followed by low, menacing growls. The eyes came closer, and soon Alice could make out the shapes of at least six people, if they could even be called people.

They looked like humans, but their canine teeth were elongated into fangs, and their mouths turned up into twisted grins. Not to mention that they were nothing short of skin and bones. _Vampires, _Alice thought in horror. They looked nothing like what she had become accustomed to; she thought all Vampires would look like Shun, or how she imagined Sinclair to look through Shun's description of him.

But these were monsters in front of her. These were the things of nightmares, the things that had been killing hundreds of innocent people in the night. And now, Alice was standing only mere feet away from them, with Shun standing between them.

The Vampire in the center of the group stepped forward and sneered, "Well, well. Look at what we found here. It's Sinclair's little pet…..And he's got a little friend with him too. How sweet." Shun narrowed his eyes at the six Vampires and growled. When he did that, Alice noticed that Shun's fangs had come out and looked just as menacing as the fangs of the Vampires in front of them.

She had to admit, he looked frightening. But she would never let Shun know for a single moment that she had been somewhat afraid of him. The Vampire in the center looked at the five others that flanked his sides and said, "Get him. We're going to bring him to Lord Alexander, dead or alive."

The Vampires charged at Shun, and the raven-haired teen met them head on. Alice, heart racing and hands trembling, stumbled back until she found her back against a brick wall. She watched in the darkness as two Vampires pinned Shun down, and he easily kicked them off, stood up, and faced them again.

Within seconds, Alice could smell the coppery scent of blood, but she didn't know who it was coming from. _Don't let it be Shun. Don't let it be Shun, _she silently begged to anyone who would listen to her pleas. Alice then felt her body go rigid as something suddenly dropped down beside her.

Slowly, she turned to find that the head Vampire of the group now stood in front of her, a devilish grin on his face. Alice started to cry out, but the Vampire covered her mouth with his hand and leaned in close to her, his face only inches away from hers. She started crying, and the Vampire used his free hand and wiped her tears away.

"Now, now. Don't cry, little girl," he hissed through his twisted smile. Alice screamed into the hand that covered her mouth, but her cries for help were muffled. The Vampire inhaled the air around Alice, and then licked his lips.

"Such pure, rich blood you have, my dear. And it probably tastes better than it smells. I'm sure Lord Alexander won't get angry at me if I enjoy you for myself instead of dumping your precious blood into the mixtures," he purred and ripped the sleeve off of Alice's shirt, exposing her shoulder.

The Vampire placed his face in the crook of her neck and licked her skin, sending a chill of repulsion and fear shooting through Alice's spine. She then felt the razor-sharp tips of the Vampire's fangs grazing along her skin where he planned to tap into her veins.

While right there below her ear, the Vampire said, "It appears that somebody else has already tasted your blood as well. Shame. I was really hoping I would be the first to pierce your veins. Oh, well."

The Vampire reared his head back, readying himself to bite into her flesh. Just before this, Alice worked her mouth free of her attacker's hand and screamed through her tears, "Shun! Shun! Help! Help me, please!"

_~O~_

There were too many for Shun to handle. He was used to one-on-one combat, not five-on-one. Every time he would knock one down, another was there to fill in the fallen slot. He had drawn blood from several of them, but none of those wounds would turn out fatal in the end.

"Shun! Shun! Help! Help me, please!" he heard Alice scream. He felt his body go rigid as he turned around to find the leader of this small band of Vampires looming over Alice, his fangs inches from piercing her neck. "Alice!" he shouted.

Using his advanced speed, Shun left the midst of the battle he was in and hurried over to Alice's side. He made it there just in time, and ripped the Vampire off of her, slamming him down onto the ground and temporarily stunning him. Shun then turned his attention over to Alice and checked to see if she had been bitten; she hadn't.

Her body trembled as she cried and continued to scream for somebody to save her. Shun grabbed a hold of her shoulders and said gently, "Alice, it's me. You're fine. He didn't hurt you, I promise." She continued to cry and shake her head, oblivious to his attempt to calm her down.

Shun then remembered what lurked around behind him, and he turned to find all six of the Vampires stalking towards them. He growled in aggravation. There were just too many for him to handle on his own, especially when he had none of his weapons on him to fight back with. The lead Vampire held on tightly to his shoulder, where he had landed after Shun threw him down, and hissed, "Don't you know it's not polite to pull somebody away from their meal?"

Shun narrowed his eyes at the Vampire and snapped, "She's not your meal." The Vampire chuckled and said, "I see. She's your meal, then. That's your scent all over those bite marks. I didn't know Sinclair was allowing his underlings to feed from humans now."

Shun growled, which only earned a chuckle from the head Vampire. "Oh, he isn't? If that's the case, then you've done a bad thing, haven't you?" The gang of Vampires started to close in on them. Shun knew he didn't stand a chance against all six of them, all while keeping his eyes on Alice to make sure she didn't get attacked again.

An idea then popped into Shun's head. It would be a long shot, but it was all he could do. He spun around and grabbed onto Alice, holding her tight against his chest. She was still crying, and more than likely didn't realize who was holding her, for she struggled against him.

But he held on tight, refusing to let her go. Shun, still facing the gang of Vampires with Alice now in front of him, focused the anger and aggravation that had built up inside of him, and closed it eyes, allowing it to seep to the surface. Then, he snapped his eyes open, sending an invisible force rushing towards the Vampires.

He watched as they were slung into the brick walls beside them with such great force, that the bricks seemed to chip. There were sickening sounds of bones crunching from the force, and the six, limp bodies of the Vampires fell to the ground in heaps.

They didn't move after that. Shun loosened his hold on Alice, and she took that opportunity to break away. When she did, she ran towards the bodies of the Vampires and froze. Her eyes, filled with horror, locked onto the pools of blood that had started to seep from the shattered skulls of the monsters, and she clamped her hands over her mouth to suppress a cry or scream.

She staggered back from the sight, and next thing Shun knew, she was falling to the ground. He acted quickly, catching her just before her unconscious body fell to the concrete. He held her tight and lightly shook her exposed shoulder.

"Alice. Alice, wake up," he said gently, but she didn't stir. _She's in shock, _Shun realized. He didn't blame her, though. She had just nearly been killed by a Vampire, and then saw the gruesome carnage that he had caused on the bodies of their attackers. Shun picked her light body up and debated on where to go from there.

Where she was staying at, the Marakura's house, was much too far of a walk away, especially now that the scent of blood filled the night air. Shun knew Vampires would be swarming after this. But the enclave was closer, and the Vampires there didn't drink from humans. "She should be safe there," he said aloud, "I hope."

Shun knew Sinclair probably wouldn't be too pleased to have a human brought into the secret Vampire enclave, but Shun didn't have much of a choice; he had to get Alice somewhere safe. With his mind made up, Shun left behind the scene of the fight and hurried back to the enclave, Alice in his arms.

He knew all of this was his fault. He shouldn't have asked her to leave the Marakura's mansion for something as mundane as a walk to help clear Shun's mind; he could have walked on his own. If he had just done that, then she wouldn't have been attacked, she wouldn't probably hate him now.

The only thing Shun was thankful for, was the fact that the adrenaline that had kicked in during the fight had overpowered the withdrawal symptoms that had started to set in on their walk. But he knew that wouldn't last much longer.

Within half an hour, Shun reached the enclave. Being that it was nighttime, the Vampires inside would be awake and roaming about. It would be almost impossible for him to sneak in with an unconscious human in his arms. Shun opened the hidden door and stepped into the main room.

Much to his surprise, there wasn't anyone inside. It then occurred to him that everyone might either be in the Training Rooms, or out in the city on one of Sinclair's missions. He wasn't going to complain about it though. Shun, taking advantage of the current situation, hurried to his room before anyone spotted him.

Once inside, he closed the door behind him and went over to his bed, where he sat Alice down. Her orange hair spread out on the silken pillowcases like a fire. Shun sat down on the edge of the bed beside her and ran a hand through his hair. This was all his fault, there was no way around it.

He had almost gotten her killed because of his selfishness and overconfidence in his fighting skills. Shun glanced back over at where that Vampire had almost bitten her neck. The monster had ripped her shirt sleeve away to gain better access to her neck, exposing much of her shoulder.

Shun leaned over and gently touched the two, fading scars of where he had bitten Alice several nights ago. And without being able to help it, his mind went back to the memory of how intoxicatingly good her blood had been. His fangs sharpened, and his mouth watered at the thought.

Next thing he knew, Shun found himself mere inches away from her neck, his fangs itching to bit into her skin, and his breath ragged with anticipation. He was just about to give into the temptation and sink his fangs in, but Alice turned over and was now face-to-face to him.

Shun flinched back a bit, half-expecting her to scream when she realized he was about to take advantage of her current state and drink her blood. But he noticed her eyes were half-open and glazed over; she was still in shock.

She stared at him with a blank expression for a moment, and then fell back unconscious. Shun stood up from the bed and walked across the room, where he sat down on a small sofa and rested his head in his hands, while his elbows sat on his knees.

He really disgusted himself sometimes. How could he promise to keep her safe, when he could hardly keep her safe from himself? Shun glanced back up at Alice's sleeping form and sighed. If she ever forgave him for that night, it would be a miracle.

* * *

Another chapter done! I've been waiting a while to get this scene done, and I feel so relieved to be done with it; you have no idea how bad it's been nagging at me. There's another scene I'm ready to do, but not till the next couple of chapters. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	39. Mercy

_~O~_

Sinclair lifted his head up from his desk when he heard a light knocking from his door. "Who is it?" he groaned. His head hurt after drinking the entire bottle of blood he kept in his study, much like somebody's head would hurt after consuming too much alcohol. _What is that human's call that? A hangover or something like that if I recall correctly, _he mused to himself.

Cautiously, the door to his study opened, and Alucard stepped inside. "Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, but one of the underlings claims to have seen Shun enter to enclave not too long ago. I don't know if they're telling the truth or not, seeing as I didn't drop by his room to check, but the underling also said they saw him carrying somebody inside with him," Alucard informed him.

Sinclair knew that the underling that had told Alucard this more than likely wasn't lying. Reason being was that word had spread that the Vampire Lord was looking for Shun, and most of the Vampires in the enclave were on high alert for the missing raven-haired teen.

Sinclair stood up from his desk and nearly lost his balance; he would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed onto the edge of the wooden desk. Alucard was already at the Vampire Lord's side, providing a support for him if need be. The second-in-command shot a disapproving look at Sinclair and said, "You've been drinking too much blood again, haven't you?"

Sinclair found his center of balance and steadied himself. "And what if I have, Alucard? Don't you think with all of the stress I have to deal with that I deserve at least to be able to indulge every now and then?" The second-in-command stayed silent for a moment before finally saying, "Let's just go and see if Shun has really returned like I've been told. If he has, then we need to hurry up and confront him so we can begin helping him."

Sinclair nodded in agreement and followed alongside Alucard out of the study. The Vampire Lord knew that Alucard didn't like it whenever he consumed too much blood for his body to process, leaving him in the hungover-like state that he was currently in.

_But he has to understand that even I have to catch a break from reality, _Sinclair thought to himself, _Alucard should be thankful that I only drink too much at times, rather than get hooked on my own drugs like Shun to solve my problems. _Sinclair felt his mood darken.

He wasn't angry that the raven-haired teen had been stealing blood mixtures right out from under his nose, but he wasn't too pleased about it either. But mainly, Sinclair was more disappointed than anything. He had seen some potential in the raven-haired teen, and so far, Shun had lived up to that potential.

So, to learn that his judgment might have possibly been wrong didn't settle right with the Vampire Lord. It wasn't all just about that, though. There was also the fact that Sinclair was angry at himself for not noticing any changes being displayed by Shun; dealing with drugs _was _his job.

He had seen so many strung-out druggies that he could pick them out in a crowd in broad daylight. And yet, Shun had slipped past that radar. Or perhaps, Sinclair just didn't want to admit it. Maybe he had known all along but didn't want to think that such a thing was possible.

Before he even realized it, Sinclair had reached the raven-haired teen's room. He and Alucard stood on the outside of the heavy wooden door, readying themselves for the confrontation that awaited them on the other side. Sinclair reached for the doorknob, not even bothering with knocking, and stepped inside the room.

Alucard cautiously followed behind him. The Vampire Lord immediately noticed Shun sound asleep on the couch in the far corner. He was about to go wake the teen up when a thought crossed his mind; why would he be asleep on the couch instead of his bed.

Sinclair then turned his attention over to the queen-sized bed on the other side of the room and felt his eyes widen. There was a girl asleep among the silk blankets. A human girl. Alucard had mentioned something about the underling that saw Shun enter back in the enclave, also saw him carrying somebody with him.

But Sinclair hadn't thought anything of it; he just figured it might have been nothing. Apparently, he was wrong, and this wasn't just nothing. "A human?" Alucard said from behind, his voice brimming with surprise. Sinclair shot a glare over at the couch, where Shun was sleeping, and strode across the room towards him.

The reason that Sinclair had come to Shun's room, to confront him about his drug addiction, had temporarily left the Vampire Lord's mind. Now, he was furious at the fact that a human had been brought to the enclave, a place that was supposed to remain hidden and secret from human beings.

Sinclair reached down and latched onto Shun's shoulder, jolting the sleeping teen awake. His eyes were wide with shock as he tried to figure out what was going on, but Sinclair didn't explain. Instead, he held on tight to Shun's forearm and pulled him out of the room.

"What are you-" He tried to ask, but Sinclair didn't give him the chance. "Hush!" he snapped harshly as he pulled Shun out into the hallway. Alucard, who remained as silent as a shadow, stepped out of the room and quietly pulled the door closed behind them as to not wake the sleeping girl inside.

Shun turned to face Sinclair and asked harshly, "Hey, what the hell is going on?" Sinclair narrowed his eyes at the raven-haired teen, brought his hand up, and popped Shun upside his head hard enough to earn a satisfying 'ow.' "I should be asking you the same thing!" Sinclair snapped, "You brought a human in here?! Have you lost your mind?! Because it's looking a lot like you have to me!"

Alucard had taken several, considerable length steps away from the two; he obviously didn't want to possibly get caught by some of Sinclair's legendary anger. "I had no other choice but to bring her here! We were attacked by Alexander's Vampires and I had to get her out of there before more of them showed up!" Shun snapped back.

Sinclair took a step back to make an attempt to regain his composure, and ran a hand through his hair. "You were told that humans weren't allowed in here, that they weren't supposed to know anything about this place, what we do, or who we are," he said in the calmest tone he could manage.

But even with that, his voice still trembled with anger. Shun adverted his gaze away from the Vampire Lord and said under his breath, "But she knows." Sinclair tensed up. "What?" Now, Shun met Sinclair's gaze and said flatly, "She knows. I've told her all about what I am and about this place. She knows about Vampires, she knows about you, she knows about everything."

Next thing Sinclair knew, he had a hold on Shun's throat and was pinning the raven-haired teen against the rocky, cave-like wall. "You idiot," Sinclair spat, "Those were simple rules, tasks that even a human could follow! Then again, maybe I shouldn't be too surprised at your ability to follow the rules, seeing as you can hardly keep yourself out of the blood mixtures."

Sinclair felt Shun tense up beneath his hold at the mentioning of his addiction. "How do you know?" he asked hoarsely from the tight hold the Vampire Lord kept on his throat. A devious smile played on Sinclair's lips as he said, "Through Loran and Zoran. But you shouldn't blame them for this. You should blame yourself."

Shun started to claw at Sinclair's hands in an attempt to break free of the chokehold he was in, but it was futile. The Vampire Lord could see the haze creeping in on Shun's eyes as more and more oxygen couldn't find its way to the teen's brain. Sinclair turned his attention over to Alucard and told him, "Track down Loran and tell him to get plenty of blood ready to start cleansing Shun from the drugs while I go in there and wipe that girl's memory."

Suddenly, the fight returned to Shun's eyes, and he began struggling again. "No! You can't do that to her!" he shouted and went back to clawing at Sinclair's hands. "I believe I can. Would you rather have me kill her and drain her of her blood and use it for blood mixtures? Maybe you would. That way you could get your little fix, right? Be thankful she gets the chance to live," Sinclair said harshly.

He then noticed a flash in Shun's eyes, and next thing he knew, the Vampire Lord found himself flying backwards and into the wall behind him. He gasped as the jagged rocks burrowed into his ribs, but quickly recovered from the blow. "Sinclair!" Alucard shouted and had already pulled out his flintlock pistol, readying it if it was needed.

Sinclair held his hand up and said, "There won't be any need for that, Alucard. Don't worry. I've got this under control." Sinclair then narrowed his gaze at Shun, who had a hand resting on his throat where the Vampire Lord had been choking him, and said, "Zoran was right, you did obtain my telekinetic powers. And by the looks of it, you have pretty good control over them. But I assure you that mine are still more powerful."

Sinclair lifted his hand, then swung it down to where his fingertips pointed to the ground. In that one fluid motion, Shun fell to the ground, pinned by an invisible force that refused to let him get up. He struggled against the telekinetic weight, but was unable to move.

The fight that had suddenly blazed back in Shun's eyes, drained as quickly as it had appeared. Now, he laid there, pinned to the ground with tears starting to form in his amber orbs. It was apparent now that Sinclair had reinstated who was the superior. "Please…..Please don't take her memory from her….Punish me for the rules that I've broken and for the things I've done, but don't make Alice suffer as well," Shun begged.

Sinclair glanced over at Alucard, as if for an answer, but all Alucard did was shrug his shoulders and say, "It's up to you what you do, Sir."

The Vampire Lord nodded and turned his attention back to Shun. "Alright," he said, "I'll spare her memory, but she has to be out of here by daylight. Alucard, you will go with Shun to take her back home the moment it's daybreak. Make sure he doesn't try to run off and bring him back here so we can start getting him detoxified."

Alucard nodded. "Yes, Sir." Sinclair, still keeping his gaze locked on Shun, slowly began to removed the invisible force that kept the raven-haired teen immobile. The moment Shun was able to move again, he took in a deep breath of air and began to cough as his lungs tried to regulate themselves after the pressure was removed from his body.

Sinclair walked over to Shun and knelt down beside him. The raven-haired teen glanced up at the Vampire Lord with fearful eyes. "You should really consider yourself lucky. Most Vampires I wouldn't show this much mercy to," he said coldly, "And next time you decide to fight me like that, be prepared to part with your life if I so desire to take it from you. Understood?"

Shun nodded and kept his eyes adverted from Sinclair, a sign that the Vampire Lord had successfully proved why he was in charge of the Clan, and why he was the one running the Blood Ring. Sinclair stood up and told Shun, "I suggest you return back to your room and clean the blood and dirt off of yourself. Change those filthy clothes while you're at it. And as a reminder, it will be daybreak in a couple of hours, so be ready to depart with Alucard."

Shun worked his way back to his feet and leaned against the rocky wall for support. "Yes, Sir," he replied, defeat prominent in his voice, and retreated back into his room. Sinclair shook his head and walked up to Alucard. "Go on," he started, "Tell me how I went overboard, how using my powers was uncalled for. I know you want to say those things, Alucard."

But much to Sinclair's surprise, his second-in-command shook his head. "I don't think you went overboard, Sir. He did attack you, after all. So, in my opinion, he deserved to be reminded of where his place is, that you are much stronger than he is." Sinclair smiled and clapped Alucard on the shoulder.

"You're just saying that because he attacked me and you got all defensive." Alucard tensed up a bit upon hearing this, and Sinclair chuckled. "Yeah, I saw you had drawn your gun when Shun attacked me. And that's why you are my most loyal subject, Alucard. You're always prepared to fight for me, even shoot one of your own Clan members in the name of my own safety. Loyalty like that is hard to come by these days," the Vampire Lord mused.

Alucard replied casually with, "Just doing my job, Sir. Fighting for you is the least I can do as repayment for helping me out all those years ago." Sinclair smiled and removed his hand from Alucard's shoulder as he started walking down the hallway back to his study.

"What would I do without you, Alucard?" he asked aloud, but was sure that Alucard had heard him. Sinclair didn't mind if he did hear, though. If anything, Alucard deserved to be reminded how important he really was. The Vampire Lord reached his study and opened the door and stopped in the threshold when he saw Loran sitting in a chair in front of the desk.

The gray-haired Vampire turned around in his seat, and Sinclair noticed the tear-stains in his eyes. "What happened?" the Vampire Lord asked as he walked over to his desk and leaned against the edge of it. A small sob escaped Loran as he told Sinclair, "It's Zoran…I've looked everywhere in the enclave for him, but I can't find him…He's gone…..He's gone and it's all my fault….."

* * *

Another chapter down. :) And heads up, people, for one of the upcoming chapters might be a bit of a heartbreaker for some people, or you might be a bit sadistic like I am. Either way, it'll be a bit tragic. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	40. Grief And Comfort

_~O~_

Shun locked the door behind him and leaned his back against the smooth wood surface. He gazed down at his trembling hands and tightened them into fists in an attempt to keep them from shaking so much. Shun had heard bits and pieces of Sinclair's legendary temper, but he had never been on the receiving end of it like some of the others had.

And after what he had just experienced, he made a mental note to never feel the wrath of the Vampire Lord again; once was enough. Shun pressed his back deeper into the wooden door, using its sturdiness for a means of support, and took in a couple of deep breaths to help regain his composure.

Not only had Sinclair discovered Alice was in the enclave and threatened to wipe her memories or even harm her, he had also discovered about Shun's addiction. The raven-haired teen bit down on his lower lip and shook his head in frustration. All of the time and energy he had put into keeping his addiction secret had just proven to mean nothing now that it had come into the light.

And it had been Zoran who spoke up and spilled the secret. Shun felt the anger inside of his rile up at the thought, but it quickly died down. Sinclair had said that he shouldn't blame Zoran or Loran, only himself. Shun knew the Vampire Lord was right.

If he hadn't gotten involved with the drugs, he wouldn't be in ninety percent of the trouble he was in now. In fact, everything that had happened that night might not have happened at all when he thought about it. The only reason that Shun had even asked Alice to go out into the city at night with him was because he needed to get his mind off of some things, those things being Zoran and the stress that his addiction had been pressing down on him.

If he had never fallen into the hole that the blood mixtures had dug for him, then he wouldn't have requested Alice's company, and she wouldn't have been attacked by Alexander's Vampires, or have been threatened to have her memories erased by Sinclair.

None of that night would have happened. And no matter which way Shun looked at it now, a lot of the things that had happened to him the past couple of weeks would have never happened to him if he had just stayed away from the drugs.

The realization was heavy on his heart, and it almost felt like it was weighing his body down, beckoning to bring him to the ground like Sinclair had done only minutes prior. Shun ran his hand through his hair and sighed heavily. Maybe it was for the best that all of this had come into the light, though.

Now, he didn't have to worry about sneaking around to break into the supply room, and he didn't have to keep lying to the very people that had accepted him as a part of their family of Vampires. In a way, the knot in his chest that had formed from all of the lying and deceiving seemed to unwind a bit, but it was still there.

"Shun?" The raven-haired teen glanced up and found Alice sitting upright in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the heel of her hand. When she was done, she removed her hand from her face and looked at him; Shun took note that even though her brown eyes still held the same amount of innocence as they always did, they also held a bit of fear.

That seemed only natural, though. She had been attacked by vicious, blood-thirst Vampires not two hours ago. "I heard all of the yelling outside of the room," she stated, "Is everything alright?" Shun found it somewhat difficult to believe that after everything she had been through that night, that she was still putting the well-being of others before her own.

He smiled sadly and approached the bed, making sure to keep what he considered a safe distance from her, in case the overpowering urge to taste her blood took hold of him again. "Yeah, everything's alright. Sinclair kind of found out that I brought you here, and he wasn't too thrilled about it," he told her and rubbed his neck where Sinclair had choked him.

Alice's eyes softened a bit. "I'm sorry if I got you in trouble," she said. Shun still couldn't figure out how she could apologize for something like this.

None of it had been her fault; it had been all his. Shun shook his head and told her, "You don't have to apologize. I knew what I was getting myself into by bringing you here, but I didn't have much other choice. Marucho's was too far away for me to carry you back there, and I knew that more of those Vampires would soon be after us when they smelled the blood of those back in the alley. It wasn't safe out there, and this was the only place I could think of to take you to in order to get you out of the city."

Alice cast her gaze down at the silk blankets in front of her feet, and tears started to form in her eyes. She then tilted her head down and began to cry. Shun felt a pang of guilt; this was his fault. He had to remind himself that even though Alice always acted so strong and level-headed, she was still just as fragile and easy to break like anyone else.

Shun sighed heavily and walked over to the side of the bed. He sat down beside Alice, and the moment he did so, Alice buried her face into his shoulder and cried harder. "I was so scared," she said through her sobs. Shun, a bit caught off guard, stared down at the crying girl for a moment before everything else caught back up with him.

When it did, he placed his arm around Alice's shoulders and brought her closer to him in a comforting embrace. He felt her tense at the action for a quick moment, but she eased up and allowed the embrace to soak in.

Shun adverted his gaze down to the floor, unable to bring himself to look at the pain that he had caused Alice in such a short time span, and told her, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have ever asked you to come with me out into the city, knowing that it wasn't safe out there. My selfishness got the better of me and clouded my judgment, and because of that, you nearly got hurt."

Shun didn't even want to mention that she could have possibly have been killed; that was just something that wasn't too be mentioned at the time. He felt Alice shake her head. She told him, "No, I knew it wasn't safe to go out at night, but I did anyway. Don't blame yourself for something that I could have said no to, for something that I did on my own free-will."

Her voice still trembled at the end, but Shun could tell that she was starting to regain her composure from her momentary breakdown. He shook his head and told her, "You can tell me not to blame myself all you want, Alice, but I'm going to because it's true. It's my fault. If I hadn't asked you to go with me, then you wouldn't have been out in the city, and you wouldn't have been attacked."

Upon the mentioning of the attack, Shun could feel her shiver. Alice remained silent for a moment before bringing her gaze up to meet Shun's, where she told him, "How about we just agree to disagree on this? We're not going to get anywhere if we both keep apologizing, are we?"

She smiled slightly through her tear-stained face, which brought a small smile to Shun as well. "Alright," he told her, seeing there was no point to keep pinning the blame on themselves. As Alice had said, they wouldn't get anywhere doing that, because neither one of them would agree that it was the other's fault.

She then pulled herself a bit away from Shun's embrace, but she didn't completely leave it, and began looking around the room. "So, this is the enclave that you told me about?" she asked, obviously trying to keep her mind on something other than the horrid events of their outing. Shun nodded in response.

"Yeah," he told her, "It's kinda dark here when the torches aren't lit, but at least there's running water and electricity." Alice seemed surprised by this. "Really?" she asked. Shun chuckled and told her, "Yeah, really. I was surprised too when I first found out, but as I was told by one of the other Clan members, we're Vampires, not Neanderthals."

This earned a small giggle from Alice. "Well," she started, "I like it. Especially the Gothic and Victorian-styles in some of the furniture and torches. Plus, it's got a bit of a nice, calm atmosphere." Shun couldn't help but let out a sarcastic chuckle at her last statement.

Alice raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?" Shun just shook his head and told her, "Calm isn't exactly a word that would fit this place. Maybe during the day when everyone's asleep, but not at night. If anything, it's a madhouse at night." Alice stared at him for a moment, then finally smiled.

"Well, madhouse or not, it's nice here. It's different, and I like it," she said with finality. Shun smiled and his eyes drifted over at the digital clock on the nightstand. Upon seeing the time, his smile faded; it was almost daybreak. He let go of Alice and stood up.

"It's almost morning. Sinclair said he wanted you out of here by daybreak, and with the mood he's in, I'd rather not try to press my luck by leaving out of here a minute after that time," Shun told her and shuddered at the thought of what kind of anger he might face if he didn't get Alice out at the designated time that the Vampire Lord had given him.

"I understand. I don't want to overstay my welcome," Alice said and threw her legs off the side of the bed. Shun took note of the ruined shirt she had on. _If the others see her like this, they'll know something happened and freak, _he thought to himself. "I think I might have an extra shirt laying around that could fit you," he told her and made his way over to the dresser in the corner of the room.

He dug around for a bit until he found a small, generic gray shirt. Glancing over his shoulder, Shun told her, "There's nothing special about it, but it should do." Alice nodded and took the shirt from him as he handed it over to her. Shun then pointed over to the door to the bathroom and told her, "The bathroom's over there. You can change in there and wash the dirt off yourself."

Alice nodded and made her way over to the bathroom. "Thanks," she told him, "It might be best if when I go back to Marucho's I don't look like I've been running through a forest." She then stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Shun heard the distinct clicking of the doorknob being locked shortly after, and then the sound of running water from the sink.

He then glanced down at himself, debating on whether or not to go ahead and change his own clothes. They were covered in dirt and the blood of the Vampires that had attacked him and Alice. _Yeah, might want to change, _he silently told him.

After a bit more digging in the dresser, he found a clean pair of jeans and a white shirt. He quickly changed into them and couldn't help but notice how much better it felt to be out of the filthy clothes and into the clean ones. After a few more minutes, Alice stepped out from the bathroom.

In her hands she held the purple shirt that the Vampire had torn the sleeve off of. She asked, "What should I do with this? There's no way to stitch it back together, so it's pretty much ruined." Shun motioned over to the small trash can beside the door and told her, "You can throw it away here if you want."

She nodded and dropped the destroyed shirt into the small wastebasket as he had suggested. Shun glanced back over at the digital clock and saw that it was about ten minutes till daybreak. "Come on," he said to Alice, "It's about time to go, and I'm sure Alucard is already waiting for us to go with him so we can drop you off at Marucho's."

Alice tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Why do we need somebody else to go with us? You know where Marucho's is, and it'll be daylight, so there shouldn't be anymore of…..those Vampires out, right?" she asked. Shun wasn't about to tell her that the reason for Alucard escorting them was to make sure that he didn't make a run for it.

Not that he was really planning on doing such a thing; Shun knew that if he did, then Sinclair would find him and that would be the end of it. Running now would be betrayal to the Clan and Blood Ring, and Shun cringed at the possible punishments from Sinclair that would be dealt out for such treason.

He tucked his hands in his pockets and told her, "You're right, there shouldn't be any of the Vampires that attacked us out in the daytime, but it's just a safety precaution that Sinclair's taking." Alice nodded, but Shun could see that she didn't completely believe the story he just told her.

Shun glanced back at the digital clock and saw the time. He then took Alice's wrist in his hand and said, "We've got to go, now. Stay close to me so you don't get lost. The enclave can be a bit like a maze if you're not used to it." Shun then led her out of the room and down the hallways to the main room, where Alucard was waiting for them.

* * *

Back! Sorry for no upload yesterday. I went out shopping and then hung out with a friend and saw World War Z. It was pretty cool, and definitely different from most zombie films. So, it was a nice change of pace. And if I don't have anything come up the next few days, there should be uploads up until Thursday. Once Thursday hits, I won't be able to upload any new chapters until about July 12 because I'll be on my trip to Germany with the Lions Band. Here's hoping I don't go mad from being unable to write for that long. Well, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	41. Slipping Away

_~O~_

Alice kept glancing up at the man that was accompanying her and Shun; Alucard. He was taller than Shun, and even though lean, he still had some muscle. By human standards, Alucard was very attractive, and Alice wondered if he was considered good-looking among Vampires as well, or if he might have just been classified as average. "So, you're Alucard?

Shun's mentioned you once or twice," Alice said as she tried to break the uncomfortable silence that had passed over the three of them since leaving the enclave. Alucard only glanced at her over the rim of his sunglasses, piercing her with his brilliant violet eyes.

He then shot a look over at Shun, one that Alice could only describe as disproval, and returned his gaze ahead of him, hiding his purple eyes behind the black lenses of his shades. Alice frowned and turned to her right to face Shun. She whispered to him, "He doesn't talk much, does he?"

Shun glanced past her, looked at their Vampire escort for a moment, and then back to her. "He….He gets a bit serious when Sinclair gives him an order," Shun whispered back, "When he's not doing something like this he's a bit more sociable, but not by much." Alice nodded.

Around them, the sun was trying its best to reach its throne above the city, but it hadn't quite gotten over the tall buildings that were blocking its path; it would take a few more hours for the sun to fully illuminate everything. In the meantime, much of the city was still cast in dim shadows, but nothing like that ones that had been present last night, the ones that harbored blood-thirsty creatures.

Alice shuddered at the memory of the attack that she and Shun faced that night, and her skin crawled at where that Vampire had trailed his fangs along her neck; she could still feel the touch of the razor-sharp teeth as if they were still on her flesh.

She tried desperately to push those memories away, but they lingered in the back of her mind, threatening to resurface and remind her again that there are monsters in the world. The three of them turned onto a new street.

Much like all of the others that they had walked down, it was covered in cool morning shadows, providing a temporary relief from the sweltering heat that dominated the summer months. Alice took note of the lack of people out and about on the sidewalks and on the streets.

Usually, the streets were bustling with people driving to work or going out shopping for the day. But rather than hundreds of cars passing by, only about a third of the usual numbers flew by. _Even during the day people are afraid of the killings, _Alice realized.

The inhabitants of the city were so scared for their lives, that they wouldn't even come out during the day, when it was supposed to be safe. It saddened Alice to see the city disintegrate so quickly. Beside her, Shun wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

The temperature was already climbing, and the jacket he wore to shield himself from the sun's ray wasn't helping him much either. Curious, Alice snuck a quick glance over at Alucard to see how he was holding up. The Vampire had on a jacket that was probably thicker than the one Shun wore, but the heat didn't even seem to bother him; Alice didn't even see a single drop of sweat anywhere on him.

And just as if Alucard knew what she was thinking, he said, "I've gotten used to the heat. It doesn't bother me anymore." Alice blinked in surprise; this was the first Alucard had spoken to her since they left the enclave. "Oh," was all she managed to say back.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she turned her attention back ahead of herself. Alice then found herself walking past familiar buildings, and she realized where they were at; they were back at the location of where she and Shun had been ambushed by Vampires.

Her feet suddenly felt heavy, and Alice stopped walking. She stood there, looking at the alleyway with the horror that she felt on the inside, and brought her hand up to where that Vampire had tried to bite her, as if to wipe away his touch. Alice flinched when she felt something touch her arm and was about to cry out when she realized it was Shun.

He looked at her with concerned, guilty eyes as he told her, "Hey, it's alright. Those Vampires won't be out at this time. You'll be fine." Alice felt her jumbled up nerves calm down upon hearing Shun's reassuring words. He was right.

No Vampires, other than him and Alucard, would be out right now. She had nothing to fear. But if that was true, then why did she still feel uneasy? Perhaps it was something similar to Post Traumatic Stress, the condition that soldiers would sometimes develop after being in battle for too long.

Or maybe she just hadn't fully recovered from the shock of the night. Shun took her wrist in his hand and pulled her along past the alleyway of her nightmares. Once she was past it, she felt a bit more at ease, but not much. Shun let go of her wrist, much to Alice's displeasure.

She didn't want him to let go. She wanted him to hold onto her wrist to give her a sense of security, to help keep her safe. They walked a bit further down the sidewalk, passing the diner she and Shun stopped in to eat at, and came to the park. _Almost back at Marucho's, _Alice thought to herself.

For some reason, that didn't provide her with the relief she thought it would have. Marucho's house just didn't seem as safe as it once had. The enclave, on the other hand, had felt so secure and guarded, like nothing could hurt her in there, despite it being home to Vampires.

But those Vampires were nothing like the ones that attacked her and Shun. They were civilized, not savage. Suddenly, Alucard tackled her and Shun, knocking them both to the ground. He then jumped up and drew an antique-looking pistol that Alice recognized as a flintlock.

He drew the hammer back and fired, sending an explosion of fire from the barrel. There was a high-pitched shriek, and Alice turned to see what had made the inhuman noise. Her eyes widened when she saw the dead body of a Vampire laying on the ground, its claws and fangs still sticking out to tear into whatever flesh it grabbed a hold of.

Alice's hands began to tremble as the memories of last night flashed through her mind. Shun made his way to her side and asked her, "Are you alright?" Alice was surprised she was able to nod. That was all Shun needed to hear. He grabbed her wrist and helped her up to her feet, which felt like concrete blocks weighing her down.

Alucard suddenly fired another shot, dropping a Vampire beside its fallen comrade as it lunged out of the same alleyway. "Why the hell are they out at this time of day?" Alucard hissed as he loaded another round into the flintlock pistol.

Alice looked down the alley and saw at least three more barreling towards them. A scream formed in the back of her throat, but fear had a powerful hold over her, and she was unable to let it out. Alucard fired again, dropping another Vampire. He then turned to Alice and Shun and told them, "Run! Get out of here! I can hold them off for a while, at least until the sun gets a bit higher and chases them off!"

Shun nodded, tightened his grip on Alice's wrist and pulled her away from the terrifying scene. Alice didn't even realize that she had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Try and run faster!" Shun begged her. She followed his request, seeing as she didn't want to slow him down, and ran as fast as her trembling legs could take her.

Back in the distance, Alice could still hear the firing of the flintlock pistol. Each shot fired seemed to get louder and louder, even though she knew that wasn't the case. Alice knew it was just her imagination, her scared mind playing tricks on her senses.

"Shun," she gasped through heavy pants, "I can't run anymore….I cant….Run anymore…." She could hardly get those words out as she tried to take in air that seemed to be just out of her reach. Shun slowed down to a stop and told her, "Hurry up and catch your breath. We can't stop for very long. They might still be after us." Alice rested against a brick wall of a store, taking in deep, greedy gulps of air.

She could hear the blood pounding loud enough in her ears that she began wondering if she might go deaf. After a few seconds of taking in air, Alice got her breathing back under control and regulated again. She looked at Shun, who was standing guard beside her, and told him, "Thanks for stopping, Shun."

She then noticed that his eyes were locked onto her neck, and there was something in them that reminded Alice of a starving animal. "Shun?" she asked, her concern and worry growing. Shun shut his eyes tight and shook his head. When he opened his eyes back up, that animal-look in them was gone; maybe Alice had imagined it.

"What? Oh, yeah. Have you caught your breath yet?" he asked, his words rushing a bit. Alice nodded slowly. "Good," he said and grabbed her wrist again, "Let's get going then." They started running again and didn't stop till they reached Marucho's.

"Alright, now hurry and get inside," Shun instructed her and started back down the sidewalk. Alice called out to him, "Shun, wait!" He glanced over his head and shook his head. "No, I have to get back to Alucard and make sure he's holding up," he told her and darted around a corner, vanishing from her sight.

Alice stood there on the front steps of Marucho's, still hearing the sounds of the flintlock pistol being fired, and the image of that feral-look in Shun's eyes ingrained in her mind. She then pushed both of those things away and hurried inside to safety.

_~O~_

Shun stumbled down an alleyway, clutching his chest and gasping from pain. His legs gave way beneath him and he fell to the filthy, trash-covered ground. The sound of Alice's blood pounding through her veins had been enough to remind him that it hadn't drank the life-giving fluid in a while and had sent his body plummeting into Bloodlust.

He had almost lost control back there. The sound of Alice's racing pulse had drawn him in like a moth to a flame, but her voice had snapped him back to reality and had reminded him what was going on; they were being chased. But on top of all that, his body was also being racked with pain from withdrawal.

He had gone at least two days without the drug, and now his body was screaming for it. His muscles twitched as he laid down on the damp ground. The pain from the combination of Bloodlust and the worst bout of withdrawal he had ever had was beginning to be too much, and for a moment, Shun thought that he might die from the pain alone.

At some point, the pain got bad enough that his body made him throw up in response as to try and rid itself of some of the agony. Shun laid there, panting heavily and clutching his sides as he battled with the Bloodlust that was eating him alive and the withdrawal that was breaking him down.

"What a sad sight," a voice said. Shun forced himself to look up at whoever had said those words, and when he saw, he wished he hadn't. Standing in front of him, was Alexander. The enemy Vampire shook his head and pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose.

Shun tried to recall his first meeting with Alexander. It had been the night when he had dropped by to let his friends know he was still alive, and he had had to leave early due to Bloodlust setting in; at the time, Shun hadn't known it was Bloodlust.

Shortly after leaving, Shun had been ambushed by Alexander, and the golden-haired Vampire had forced a dosage of his blood mixture in the raven-haired teen's veins. Shun didn't remember anything after that until he woke up and found himself back in the enclave, an IV line in his arm and a bag of blood hanging above his head.

Safe to say, their first meeting hadn't gone over well. Alexander knelt down in front of Shun and said, "I'm sure you're wondering why my underlings have been running about the city during the day, rather than sleeping." Shun didn't say anything, partly due to the fact that the pain he was in wasn't allowing words to escape his lips.

But Alexander just kept talking. "Well, you see, it's simple really. One of my Scouts saw you, Alucard, and a girl walking through the city and reported it to me. I, in turn, sent out several of my underlings to say hello," he explained. Shun gasped as another wave of pain shot through his body.

At this point, the pain from the Bloodlust and withdrawal had begun to melt together, making it almost impossible to tell the difference between the two. Alexander shook his head, then dug into his shirt pocket and retrieved two syringes of dark, crimson liquid; blood mixtures.

Shun felt his muscles scream and shriek with want at the sight of the drug in Alexander's hand. "Here, this will help with your pain," he said and threw the syringes down onto the ground in front of Shun. Alexander then stood up and told Shun, "Now, just remember who helped you with this next time you're in front of Sinclair."

Alexander turned on his heels and walked down the alleyway, eventually vanishing from Shun's blurring sight. Shun then looked down at the two syringes that laid on the ground in front of him. He knew the contents of those syringes were stronger than what he had been taking and would be more than enough to shut up his body's begging.

Shun reached and took one of the needles in his hand and forced himself to sit up, leaning against the brick wall behind him. And with trembling hands, he worked the orange cap off the syringe and stabbed the hair-thin needle into his arm. The moment the blood mixture hit his veins, the world vanished.

* * *

Another chapter down. I actually did this one rather quickly. I think i started about 8:10-ish or so. I'm getting super fast at putting chapters out. When i first started out, i took about two hours to write one chapter about this length. Now, I can do one in almost less than an hour. Just proves that you get better with practice. Well, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	42. Guilty Sins

_~O~_

Shun groaned, his body sore and aching as if he had just been beaten. He tried to remember what happened after he injected himself with the stronger version of Sinclair's drug, but he just couldn't get himself to focus on it; something was distracted his senses.

He forced his heavy eyes open, but everything was blurred, and he was unable to really make out any definite shapes or objects. But there was a smell that kept drawing his attention. Shun inhaled deeply to try and identify what the smell was, and when he did, he felt his body tense up; it was the scent of blood.

The coppery smell hung thick in the air, overwhelming any other smell that might have been present. But whose blood did he smell? Shun didn't think it was his, but to make sure, he patted himself down, feeling for any cuts or wet blood; he found none.

Shun forced his aching body to sit up. His eyes had still yet to come into complete focus yet, so he still had no idea as to where he was at, or what the source of the blood may be. He sat there on the floor for a bit, waiting for the fog to leave his vision.

Shun didn't know how long it too for his eyesight to finally return back to normal, but when it did, he rubbed the last bit of the haze away and began to look at his surroundings. His eyes widened when he recognized the familiar hallway that he had passed out in; he was back at his grandfather's dojo.

He guessed he had wandered back to the dojo while he had been under the influence of the drugs. But when he realized where he was, and the fact that the scent of blood hung heavy in the air, Shun's stomach did a flip. He scrambled up to his feet and started to run to where the smell of blood was strongest.

His heart was racing with anxiety as he ran into the living room. The moment he crossed the threshold, Shun came to a halt and pressed his back against the wall. He clamped his trembling hands over his mouth and stared down at the sight in horror.

Laying on the floor, in a bloody, grotesque heap, was his grandfather. Shun's legs suddenly turned to jelly, and he dropped down to the floor, never once taking his eyes away from the old man's body. But something did catch his attention out of the corner of his eye.

Shun turned to look at it, and found that it was his reflection in a mirror that was hung on the wall. And if it was possible at this point, Shun's eyes widened even more. He saw his reflection as somebody else entirely. The doppelganger in the glass was covered in dried blood from head to toe, with razor-sharp fangs protruding out.

But Shun knew that it wasn't some look-a-like staring back at him. _That's me, _he thought to himself, even though the words didn't seem true. But the proof was right in front of him, a reflection covered in blood, a monster in the flesh. "I…..I killed him…..," Shun admitted to his reflection, and the mirrored image of himself said with back with him.

It hadn't been something else that had broken into the dojo and took the old man's life; it had been Shun. In the moments that everything had gone black after the drug hit his veins, he had unconsciously wandered back to the dojo, where he had done the unthinkable.

It then occurred to Shun that he had been fighting his Bloodlust at the time as well, and the blood mixtures didn't help with that, as he had learned a long time ago. It would quiet down the urge to feed a bit, but not by much. Shun realized that it had been his Bloodlust that had caused him to do this to his grandfather, but he couldn't help but think that if he had been in control of himself, he might have been able to stop himself from hurting the old man.

Images started to come back into Shun's mind, images covered in blood. Shun didn't even realize his was crying until he glanced back at his reflection and saw that the tears had left a trail down his face in the dried blood. _What kind of monster lies beneath your skin?_ a voice asked him.

Shun quickly recognized the voice as Zoran's. _Keep weakening those walls so the monster can break them down once they become brittle enough. I want to see what kind of beast lives within you. _Shun clamped his hands over his ears to try and block out the Vampire's voice, but it was pointless; the voice was coming from inside of his head.

_They won't admit that they're monsters until the creature inside of them breaks out and hurts somebody. _The smell of the blood in the air started to become suffocating, and Shun couldn't catch his breath. He pressed harder on his ears and gasped for air. _Monster…..Monster…..Monster, _Zoran's voice kept saying.

Shun cried out, "Stop! Shut up!" He scrambled up to his feet and darted out of the door. The sunlight hit his eyes, temporarily blinding him, but he kept running until he reached the forest that he had spent many hours training in with his grandfather.

Shun, still covering his ears, leaning against the wide trunk of an oak tree and slid down to its base. Now that he was out of the dojo and away from the sickening scent of his grandfather's blood, Shun was able to catch his breath. He took in large gulps of the air, as if he had just broke the surface of water that had been drowning him. Zoran's voice was no longer echoing throughout his mind, but that still didn't keep Shun from hearing all of the things that had been said. He pressed himself deeper into the trunk of the tree, wishing that the bark would wrap around him and engulf his body to take him away from the horrible reality that had just slapped him in the face. Shun brought his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead on them. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream. But for some reason, he couldn't.

Perhaps he was in shock at the moment, or still in denial about the fact that he killed his grandfather; it all seemed like a horrible nightmare. Every time Shun thought back to the scene he had left behind in the dojo, his stomach did a flip and threatened to make him sick.

And even though he was sitting in the shadows of the massive oak tree, hidden from the sun, it felt like the temperature just continued to rise, making the air almost impossible to breathe. But Shun knew better, he knew it was just him. He wiped the tears from his eyes with the heel of his hand, and some of the blood wiped away from his face when he did this.

Shun stared down at the dried blood that covered his hands. They didn't even seem like hands to him anymore; they looked like something else that was more evil. His eyes then shifted to a bit of sunlight that had cut through the leaves of the oak tree beside him.

Slowly, he reached his hand out and placed it in the light. Almost instantly Shun felt the sun starting to heat up his overly-sensitive skin, and in a matter of minutes, the skin on the back of his hand started to turn a shade of pink that only appeared as a sunburn started to set in.

Shun remembered being told that the sun wouldn't make Vampires combust into flames, but it could severely burn them if they were out in it long enough, and it could kill them by drying them out if they were unable to escape it after being out in the constant sunlight for too long.

Shun stared back down at his hand, which was starting to turn a bit red in the center now. The pain he was feeling from the burn didn't seem to do any justice to the pain he should have been enduring as punishment for killing his grandfather.

He wanted himself to suffer, to feel pain for his crime. It seemed like the only thing he could do; there was no way to bring back his grandfather or correct all of the mistakes he had made, so why not hurt more than just mentally? A sharp, piercing pain then shot through his hand, causing Shun to pull his hand away from the light out of instinct.

He then looked down at the deep red burn that was painted on his skin. The burn radiated heat, and the skin was tight and difficult to move after sustaining such damage. But Shun knew it would heal; it probably wouldn't even scar over.

He sat there, clutching his burned hand, and stared blankly at the ground in front of him, and at that moment, he wished that he had died during the Transition from human to Vampire. That way, he wouldn't have had to endure any of the suffering that he had since that fateful day.

_It would have been better if I had just died, _he thought grimly. That way, nobody would have had to suffer except over his death. _Especially Alice. She's gone through almost as much as I have since this began. _A thought then crossed Shun's mind.

Alice had, indeed, gone through as much as he had, especially the past couple of days. And yet, he hadn't heard her asking for her own death, saying that she didn't want to live anymore. No. She would take whatever happened to her and turn it around as strength that she would use to carry herself through the hard times that would follow. But Shun's situation was a little bit different; he had _killed _his grandfather.

How was he supposed to turn that situation around and use it as strength? An image of Alexander popped into Shun's mind. That was how he would turn this around. Alexander had caused too many people pain, Shun included. And if the enemy Vampire hadn't been there and given Shun those syringes of blood mixtures, then the raven-haired teen would have never fallen back under the influence of the drugs, and he might have not killed his grandfather.

He might have been able to stop himself, or perhaps he would have been found by Alucard and brought back to the enclave and gotten some help. That was how Shun would turn this situation around. He couldn't die when he now realized that he had to help put an end to Alexander.

And even though he was still raw from the reality of killing his grandfather, Shun knew that that was just the right amount of fuel he needed to make the fire in him burn a bit stronger. But he knew that he would need a lot of help before he faced Alexander; it was clear that Shun, being virtually ruined by the drug use, was in no shape to fight. He stood up, his legs still heavy with the sorrow that he felt on the inside. But he pushed through that and made his way back to the enclave, the only place that he could go to get the help he needed.

_~O~_

Alucard came running back into the enclave, a bloody mess. Sinclair, who had been loitering about in the main room, saw the second-in-command and quickly asked him, "What the hell happened?" Alucard leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath.

When he finally did, he told Sinclair, "We were….We were ambushed by some of Alexander's Vampires…..We all got separated…..I looked all over the city for Shun, but I haven't been able to find him anywhere." Sinclair ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

"Damn…First Zoran goes missing, and now Shun," the Vampire Lord hissed. Alucard's eyes widened in surprise. "Zoran's missing?" he asked, his tone filled with worry. Sinclair nodded and told him, "Yeah….It seems that he's run off." Sinclair knew how Alucard looked out for Zoran like an older brother, and it was clear on the second-in-command's face that he was worried.

"He'll be fine, Alucard. Don't worry. Zoran will probably be back in no time," Sinclair said, even though he had no way of knowing for sure himself. But the words seemed to ease Alucard a bit, and that was all that mattered. Suddenly, the door that led out of the enclave opened, and Shun walked inside. Sinclair quickly noticed the dried blood that covered the raven-haired teen, and the dark, haunted look in his eyes. Alucard and Sinclair immediately ran to Shun's side. The Vampire Lord looked him over and asked, "What happened?"

Shun chuckled, but it was void of all humor. "I…..I killed my own grandfather," the raven-haired teen said grimly, despite the damaged smile on his face. Sinclair could tell that even though Shun seemed coherent, the teen was still in shock. "Alucard," the Vampire Lord said, "Find Loran and tell him to start getting bags of blood ready." Alucard nodded and retreated to go do what the Vampire Lord had ordered to him to.

Sinclair now turned his attention back to Shun. "I didn't mean to kill him…..I didn't have any control over myself…It was all the Bloodlust and drug's fault….It was all my fault," Shun said under his breath. Sinclair made the raven-haired teen look at him right in the face, and when he did, the Vampire Lord used his telekinetic abilities to knock him out.

The raven-haired teen's eyes closed, and his body went limp. Sinclair caught the teen before he hit the ground. The Vampire Lord had seen one too many Vampires driven mad by their own guilt of killing a friend or family member, so inducing a coma-like sleep on Shun was the best thing at the moment for him. It would allow the initial shock and trauma to fade a bit and make it more tolerable when he woke up.

Alucard then returned to the main room, Loran right behind him with a box filled with bags of blood. Sinclair motioned down to the unconscious teen and said, "Alucard, help me get him back to his room." The second-in-command nodded and hurried over to Sinclair to help.

They carried Shun back to his room and set him down on the silk blankets of his bed. Loran immediately hooked an IV line into Shun's arm and attached a bag of blood to said line to start cleansing the raven-haired teen's blood of the drugs in his system.

Sinclair started out of the room and said, "Let's leave him be for a while. There's nothing else that we're able to do right now, so no need in standing around here." Loran and Alucard nodded and followed the Vampire Lord out of the room.

* * *

__Beh, I just wasn't really feeling it when writing this chapter. I don't know why. Guess my head just wasn't in the game like usual. oh, well. read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	43. Bad Dreams

_~O~_

Alice had gotten lucky when she got back to Marucho's; everyone was still asleep. This worked out very well to her benefit. With everyone asleep, Alice was able to sneak back up to her room without being questioned as to why she had left Marucho's, why she was wearing a shirt that wasn't hers, or why her eyes were stained with tears and her breath ragged. Alice hurried to her room and closed the door behind her.

Once inside, she breathed a sigh of relief; as far as she knew, none of the others knew of her absence last night. She had been lucky, so very lucky. Not only did she get away from her friends without being noticed, but she had also survived two Vampire attacks, which most people weren't fortunate enough to do. Alice shuddered as she thought about the vicious creatures that had chased after her, that had tried to drink her blood. To her, those things hadn't been Vampires.

At least, not the Vampires she had come to know, ones like Shun and Alucard. No, what attacked her had to have been something else entirely different. They might have been called Vampires, but to her, they were monsters, wolves in sheep's clothing. Alice shuffled over to her bed and laid down; she was exhausted. The bed seemed to absorb some of her worries, but not all of them.

She laid there, wondering if Shun had gotten back to Alucard, and if the two of them were okay. She wondered if they were still being chased by those monsters, if Alucard was still shooting at them with that flintlock pistol like he had been when she and Shun ran.

_Shun…._ Alice's mind shifted back to that animal look she had seen in his eyes, the look that had been focused so intensely on her neck; it had made her uneasy. She had felt as if she were being stared down by one of the Vampires that had attacked her last night.

Her skin crawled as the phantom sensation of that Vampire's touch returned to her mind. Alice tightened her hands into fists and forced her mind to forget that feeling, but it wouldn't go away. It lingered there in the corner of her subconscious, waiting to rise up again and remind her of the disgusting monster's touch.

Alice wasn't sure if this made her a bad person or not, but she was happy that Shun had killed the Vampire that had tried to bite her that night. With the creature's death, she knew it wouldn't be able to hurt her ever again. But when she thought about it, there were hundreds of other Vampires in the city that would try the same thing, that would try and kill her for the sake of drinking her blood.

That realization didn't provide her any comfort. Instead, it only made Alice wish she were back at the enclave, where she had felt so safe and secure. Back there, there had been Vampires, but they were nothing like the things that attacked her and Shun. Alice rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling fan above her. Its blades rotated slowly, and the pulley chains shook as the entire fixture moved.

Alice sighed heavily; she just wanted to slip away into a deep sleep and forget the horrible parts of last night and that morning. She wanted to hold onto the good parts, like being at the enclave or having Shun console her during her breakdown, all while forgetting the Vampire's touch on her neck. But she knew that was impossible. That just wasn't how the human brain worked.

Her mind would hold onto those horrible memories and use them as a reference in the future to keep her safe in any similar situations that she might encounter to ensure her survival. But Alice didn't care if remembering those events was a survival technique or not; she didn't want to remember.

She closed her eyes, which were heavy with fatigue, and started to drift off. But shortly after, terrifying images of monsters with fangs and claws flashed through her mind. Alice shot upright in her bed and frantically looked around her room to see if she was really alone.

Her hands were shaking with fear, and her heart was racing; even in her dreams she didn't feel safe. Tears stung at her eyes, and Alice buried her face into her hands as the sobs came. It was all just proving to be too much, this new world she had come to learn about in such a short time, a world where creatures that thrived in the night and feed off blood exist.

Alice cried harder just for the sake of letting all of her pent up emotions out before they tore her apart from the inside out. In the middle of her breakdown, she thought about the comforting embrace that Shun had offered her back in the enclave when the shock of the night had finally hit her.

She remembered how the embrace had chased away the remainder of her fears and made her feel safe and guarded. It had been surprising at first when Shun had done that though; consoling wasn't something that Alice had seen him do a lot. So, it was new to her.

But it hadn't taken long for her to get used to it, to fall into the embrace and let it melt the painful ice that had clung to her heart, to let it comfort her. Alice wrapped her own arms around herself as she tried to imagine that Shun was there with her again to comfort her in her time of unease.

A small smile played on her lips as she imagined it up, but her peaceful moment was shattered when the invisible image of Shun she had conjured changed. His eyes had gone back to that feral look, and next thing she knew, he was going after her neck.

Alice gasped and severed the daydream, putting it to an end before it could continue. She clamped her unsteady hands onto her neck where Shun had first taken blood from her in what felt like ages ago. Alice half-expected the old puncture wounds to be open again and bleeding like they had done one day, but they weren't.

In fact, she couldn't even feel where they had been; only the smooth skin of her neck. She started taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. _It was just my mind playing tricks on me, _she told herself, _Shun wouldn't do anything to hurt me. _But for some reason, as she thought those last few words, Alice wasn't so sure.

"That look in his eyes…That…..That wasn't Shun…..It couldn't have been," she muttered to herself. How could she feel safe around him, and uneasy at the same time? It made no sense. Alice shook her head and said aloud, "No, I promised Shun when he told me the truth that I wouldn't think of him any differently, that I wouldn't be afraid of him! He's still the same person I've known for years! Nothing's different about him now other than he's…"

Alice couldn't figure out a way to finish her last sentence without it becoming ironic or contradicting itself. _Other than he's a Vampire now…, _she thought to herself. No matter how she looked at it, it contradicting her previous statement about him being the same. Shun wasn't the same.

He wasn't even human anymore. So, how could she say that he was still the same person she's known for years, when everything she's known her whole life had changed along with the existence of Vampires coming into the light? Nothing was the same. Everything was different now, and Alice couldn't help but look at the world differently too. She sat in her bed in silence until somebody knocked on her door.

"Alice?" Runo said, "Are you awake?" Alice wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand and said back, "Yeah, I'm awake." She noticed that Runo's voice had sounded heavy, almost void of its usual life. "You might want to come to the sitting room and see the news report on TV," Runo said darkly.

Alice could hear her friend's footsteps vanish down the hallway. A feeling of uneasiness settled over Alice. What could be on the news reports that had seemed to bring a dark cloud into the Marakura's home? Thoughts and ideas started to pop into Alice's head.

What if the Vampires that she and Shun had been running from that morning had caught Shun and killed him? What if he was now among the death toll for those killed by the hands of an enemy that nobody would believe existed? Alice climbed out of her bed and walked to the sitting room to meet up with the others. She instantly took note of all of their grim expressions.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked softly, feeling that if she spoke at a normal volume it would shattered the silence in the air. Marucho pointed to the TV and said, "Shun's grandfather has been killed. They found his body earlier this morning." Alice felt her eyes widen.

Reluctantly, she turned to face the TV to see the report. Normally, a report on another death in the city didn't get any special treatment anymore; all the news channels did was post a list of the people found dead from the night before.

But this was different. The news reporter on TV spoke about how the old man's death was different from the others. Shun's grandfather hadn't been drain of all of his blood like the other victims, and according to the autopsy reports, the old man had been killed during the daytime, something that hadn't happened yet.

The reporter on TV went into some of the gruesome details of the death, but Alice didn't want to hear anymore of it. She quickly located the remote and turned off the TV, plunging the room into a deafening silence. "I don't want to hear anymore bad news or see anymore bad things," she said, "I've had enough of that lately."

Alice ignored the curious looks her friends gave her upon the mentioning of her last statement, but none of the delved into it any further, which Alice was thankful for. She set the remote back down on the coffee table and asked, "Do any of you know if Shun's heard about his grandfather's death?"

Dan shook his head and told her, "We don't know. He might have, but since we have no way of getting in touch with him or even knowing where he's at, there's no way to know for sure." Alice sat down on the far end of a sofa and sighed heavily. It was quite obvious to her that Shun's grandfather's death had been caused by Vampires, even if it wasn't in the same manner as all of the other killings in the city.

Alice couldn't even begin to fathom how Shun would react upon hearing that his grandfather had been nothing short of slaughtered by a Vampire. She figured he might develop a hatred of himself when he realized that a creature like him took the last family he had away from him. Alice wished she could return back to the enclave and see him, talk to him.

But not only was she unsure of the exact way back to the enclave, there was also the matter of the city being in a daytime lockdown now that a killing had occurred during the hours while the sun was up. And regardless as to whether Alice was able to go out into the city now or not, she knew that there were Vampires out during the day, a time when they normally shouldn't be active.

It wasn't safe out there anymore, that was for sure. Alice held back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes; she didn't want to cry in front of the others and have to explain the reason for her sorrows. But there was one thing Alice wanted. She just wanted the world to make sense again, to be normal like it used to be.

* * *

I had a bit of writer's block at the beginning of this chapter, and little motivation to even write today, but I'm glad I did. In my opinion, this chapter turned out pretty good (much better than I thought it would have). Anyway, I just want to remind everyone that **there will be** **NO UPLOADS until JULY 12 OR 13.** I'm leaving tomorrow for band camp with my bari sax for Lions Band, and on July 4 I'll be leaving for Germany to march in an international parade competition. So, no chance to write any new chapters until I get back. In the meantime, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	44. Overcome

_~O~_

Shun felt whatever power that was being held over his mind loosen up, and when it did, he was allowed to leave the deep, peaceful slumber that he had been forced into by Sinclair upon returning to the enclave. He didn't want to leave that sleep, though. In that moment of temporary, unconscious bliss, there had been no worries.

The killing of his grandfather didn't bother the guilt-ridden parts of his mind like it did when he was awake and fully aware of what he had done, of what pain he must have caused the old man. Shun couldn't help but think about what must have gone through his grandfather's mind as his throat was ripped open by his own grandson. The possible thoughts were enough to make him shudder with self-disgust.

Still lying in his bed back in the enclave, Shun rolled over onto his back and looked up at the IV line of blood that hung from a hook overhead. The bag was almost empty and would more than likely need changing within the next half hour. As he stared at the red liquid that rested within the plastic bag, images of the blood-soaked scene back at his grandfather's flashed through Shun's mind, making him relive the horrible moment in short little bursts. He quickly turned his head away and removed his gaze from the bag of blood. Tears started to sting at the corner of Shun's eyes.

How did he plan on living the rest of his life with this? The demons he now held with the vicious murder of his grandfather was a heavy burden to handle, and there was no guarantee that the pain would ease up any as the years went by.

For all Shun knew, the pain might never go away. It might just linger about, slowly eating him away to the point of where he shattered beyond repair, considering he hadn't already gotten to that point. But Shun knew he'd have to fight through his pain and suffering for just a little bit longer because there was still the matter of Alexander at hand.

While Shun had been in the midst of his struggle to accept that he had killed his grandfather, the raven-haired teen had made a personal vow to make sure an end was put to Alexander for all of the trouble the enemy Vampire had caused not only him, but everyone else.

Getting rid of Alexander might not bring back Shun's grandfather, but it would at least provide the raven-haired teen a bit of solace in knowing the one who helped cause his downward spiral was no longer a problem. The door to the room opened, and Shun forced himself to glance up to see who had entered. He found Sinclair in the doorway.

The Vampire Lord wore his usual calm, cool demeanor, despite the fact that Shun's drug addiction had come into the light, on top of the recent revelation that he had killed his own grandfather.

"I see the mind control I used to put you to sleep has worn off, a lot quicker than I thought it would have, as well. Perhaps I misjudged how much strength on you. Oh, well, back on point. How are you holding up? Because if you're still in shock, then I'd be more than welcome to knock you out, because the last thing we need is you going mad and doing something irrational, especially in your current state," Sinclair said calmly and leaned against the rocky wall beside the door.

Shun kept his gaze adverted from the Vampire Lord; he didn't dare look at the person that had spared his life and given him a home that accepted him, the person that he betrayed by stealing from. "I think I'm fine right now….Thanks for the offer though," Shun said weakly.

Even though he wasn't looking, Shun could hear each step of Sinclair's confident stride as the Vampire Lord made his way across the room. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and caught a glimpse as Sinclair examined the almost empty bag of blood that hung above the bed.

"This will need to be changed soon. I'll get Loran to get a new one in here soon," Sinclair mused aloud to himself. The Vampire Lord then glanced down at Shun and said, "That'll be about the tenth bag we've put on you since you got back to the enclave yesterday, if I have kept the count correct. You've still got a good many left to go though before your blood is completely cleaned out of the drugs, so I'm sure we'll go through a good amount of bags."

Shun went back to adverting his gaze and said, "I'm sorry for this, for causing everyone so much trouble lately and everything else." He could already feel the tears trying to break free again, but Shun did everything he could to hold them in; he didn't want to be seen even weaker in the Vampire Lord's eyes than he already was.

But much to Shun's surprise, Sinclair told him, "Don't worry about it. Things happen sometimes that none of us have that much control over. All we can do it try and overcome whatever challenges are thrown our way. That's what we as Vampires have always done. And even though I still have not taken too kindly to being stolen from and lied to, I, as the leader of this Clan and organization, have a duty to make sure that all problems that I am faced with are solved. This is nothing more than another problem and challenge for me to face and fix to ensure the well-being of my Clan. Now, I think I'll go and find Loran and get him to change the blood bag for you."

Sinclair turned on his heels and left out of the room without another word. Shun laid there, thinking over what the Vampire Lord had just said to him about having to overcome any problems that they were faced with in the Clan. In a way, Shun hadn't tried really to overcome; he had been too weak to want to try.

Instead, he had just let all of his problems weigh him down and chip away at him more and more until he finally couldn't handle to pressure anymore and gave in.

Shun sighed heavily and said aloud to himself, "No more. No more being weak and giving in too easily just because things might get difficult. And they will. It will only get more difficult from here, I just know it. If I continue to be how I am, I will never get past this, and things will only continue to break me down. I don't want that anymore."

He didn't want to suffer by his actions anymore or to be pained as badly whenever something tragic happened in his life. Shun wanted to change that. And he knew that to do that, he would have to face all of his pain head-on and embrace it, to turn it around to where he could convert it into strength that would make him stronger.

He wanted to overcome all of the problems he was faced with from there on out, to refuse to let anything trouble him to the point of caving in on himself like he had done so many times. Shun felt the weight in his chest turn a little bit lighter with his small revelation; it was a small step in the right direction.

The door suddenly opened again, and Loran walked into the room, several full bags of blood in his arms. Shun instantly noticed the dark expression on the gray-haired Vampire's face, an expression that was covering the usually bright and cheerful light that was always there to the point of almost being sickening to some of the Clan members, such as Alucard.

Shun forced his weakened body to prop himself up on his elbows and asked, "Are you alright?" Loran jumped a bit in surprise, as if not realizing that Shun was there or awake. But when he saw the raven-haired teen, Loran eased up a bit.

"Oh, Sinclair didn't tell me you were conscious. You startled me," Loran said flatly as he replaced the empty bag with one full of blood with almost automatic motions. Shun knew this wasn't right, that this wasn't how Loran normally acted. If the gray-haired Vampire was really okay, then he would have been swarming over Shun asking questions about what had happened, offering words of kindness, or asking if the raven-haired teen needed anything.

Shun asked him again, "Is everything alright, Loran?" Loran stared at Shun for a moment, and then dropped his gaze down to the ground and said quietly, "Not…..Not exactly." Shun caught a glimpse of sparkling tears starting to form in the corner of Loran's ash-gray eyes.

And before he could even ask what was troubling the gray-haired Vampire, Loran told him, "Zoran seems to have run off from the enclave, took most of his stuff and everything…..I looked all over the place for him, but couldn't fine a single trace of him…It's all my fault he left….I thought I had been trying to help, I thought I had been doing the right thing…But all I was doing was hurting him by doing what _I_ thought _he _would want. I never once even considered or asked what Zoran really wanted, or if he even wanted my help."

Loran's words were starting to tremble the more he spoke, and eventually, he sat down on the cold, stone floor and ran his hands through his hair and sobbed when he could no longer hold back his torrent of emotions. "All my fault…..Zoran leaving was all my fault," Loran sobbed.

Shun could only stare down at the gray-haired Vampire, completely unable to figure out what to do. Of course, Shun didn't think that Zoran's leaving was Loran's fault, but it was quite clear that Loran thought it was.

"And…..And because of all of this….I…I don't even know what's right and wrong anymore….I thought I was being a good person, a good brother….But I was just hurting him and making his life worse," Loran blurted out and shook his head back and forth in denial.

Shun couldn't help but shake his own head, and if he had had the strength, he probably would have gotten out of his bed and slapped some sense into Loran and put an end to the Vampire's sniveling. "No, it's not your fault, Loran. Zoran left on his own choice and own will, not because you were trying to help him," Shun stated, surprised by the sturdiness in his previously weak voice.

He then realized that somebody had to be strong for Loran, to help him overcome his problems like Shun had to do now. And since Loran had helped Shun so much and given the raven-haired teen plenty of advice and words of comfort, Shun figured that returning the favor was the least he could do.

"You are a good person, Loran, probably one of the best in this whole Clan. And you are also a good brother, it's just Zoran's fault for not being able to see that everything you did, everything you put yourself through, was to help him and to make his life better."

Loran's crying ceased a bit, and he looked up at Shun from the floor with his tear-stained eyes, looking like an innocent kid that had thought he had done something wrong, only to find out that he wasn't in trouble for it.

"I know I'm probably not the best one to be giving advice on being a good person or doing right and wrong at the moment, seeing as what I've done lately, but what I'm telling you is true, Loran. Don't cut yourself down and blame yourself for Zoran's actions, especially when you've done so much for him and he hasn't been grateful for it," Shun said sternly.

He, for one, didn't get along all that well with Zoran. Shun knew from the moment that Zoran first confronted him and started speaking of monsters and wanting to see the raven-haired teen breakdown and hurt somebody, that Zoran wasn't as innocent and helpless as Loran had made him out to be.

Loran brought his hand up to his face and wiped away the tears in his gray eyes with the heel of his hand. "Do you really believe these things, or are you just saying them to try and get me to stop wallowing in my self-pity?" Loran asked as he stood back on his feet.

Shun looked directly at Loran and told him, "I believe them, and they are the truth. Sinclair, he told me something a few minutes ago. He told me that things will always happen, and sometimes they are things we have no control over or can't help, and that all we can do when faced with these things is overcome them and push on by them."

A small smile played on Loran's mouth as he said quietly, "That does sound like something Sinclair would say…Thanks….Thank you for the advice and telling me this." The small smile turned into a small grin, and a bit of Loran's usual light flashed back in his eyes.

"So, do you need anything else before I leave out of here?" he asked. Shun shook his head, relieved that a bit of the old Loran was shining through all of the doom and gloom. The gray-haired Vampire nodded and left out of the room, closing the door behind him.

As Shun laid back down in his bed, he couldn't help but wonder if Loran had really stopped blaming himself, or if it was all just a façade, an act. He firmly believed that Loran was grateful for Shun's advice, and that it had helped the young Vampire a bit, but there was also the gnawing thought in the back of Shun's mind that was saying that Loran still thought Zoran's leaving was his fault.

Shun closed his eyes and sighed; he was growing tired again as the clean blood started working its way into his veins, clearing out as much of the remnants of his drug-use as it could manage this time. His mind was also tired from taking in so much stuff at once and dealing with all of the sudden stress of facing Sinclair and helping Loran through his time of need.

Shun shifted in his bed until he found a comfortable position, and the moment he did, he fell back asleep. But unlike the sleep that had been induced by Sinclair, this one was anything but peaceful. Instead of the blissful nothingness, he was plagued by memories, memories painted in blood. And yet, somehow, he managed to sleep through them all.

* * *

I'M BACK! AFTER TWO LONG WEEKS, I AM BACK! -dances happily- Oh God, I had so much fun on my trip to Germany and Austria. I got to see the St. Michaelis church in Hamburg, and the Dachau Concentration camp near Munich, and go up in the Eagle's Nest and the Salt Mines near Salzburg, and then I got to go inside the Summer and Winter Palaces in Vienna (which will now be used as a major source of inspiration in my upcoming fic _The Crown_), and I got to see the crypts of the royal Austrian kings and queens, on top of a lot of other cool stuff!

Our band, which went to Hamburg to compete in an international parade competition against about 49 other countries, placed first overall. We are now 29 time world champions! But other than that, I am so happy to be home again. I missed it more than I thought I would have. Plus, there are free bathrooms and ice water back here in America, and drivers and cyclists that won't run you over or kill you.

Plus, I missed writing so much. :) Now, on another note. To the Mrs. Kazami psychopath that reviewed on almost every chapter in this story with your pointless little two to five word sentences about going to get people that write with the Shun and Alice pairings, you may think you got on my nerves or bothered me, but you didn't.

All you did was make my day by letting me know that somebody is stupid enough and has nothing better to do that go around on people's stories and leave pointless little comments in hopes of attention. It was so sad that it was funny. :)

You, my friend, are the reason that the internet is filled with so many ignorant people. You can say you'll come after me all you want and make other authors disappear and write stuff about Shun this and Shun that in all the reviews you want, honey, it ain't gonna bother me.

I'm going to keep writing what the hell I want. And if anything, all you've done is increase my review numbers, making more people think that my story must be pretty good if it has over 150 reviews. So, now, I'm sure more people will at least visit the story to see what all the fuss is about.

So, thanks. You've ended up helping me. Who knew somebody like you would be so helpful to me? I certainly never thought so. So, keep on reviewing on my stuff and the other ShunxAlice writers on this site. We're going to keep writing, no matter what you're crazy ass puts in the review/comment box.

And since you said something about tormenting me wasn't any fun unless I fought back and responded, if you had actually READ THE DAMN STORY AND AUTHOR'S NOTES, you would have known that during the time you reviewed, I put a note down saying that I would not be able to upload until July 12 or 13. -.- Duh.

So, yet again, you have proven to me to level of your intelligence and told me just how much free time you apparently have on your hands. So, you think you might have gotten on my nerves, or under my skin and scared me, you're wrong. ;)

All you did was waste about an hour of your life and provide me with some humor. Well, I think I'm pretty much done with my little rant her. So, people that actually bother to READ THE STORY AND ENJOY IT, please read and leave a review on the way out. -takes a bow- Thank you. ~Copperpelt~


	45. War Call

_~O~_

Alexander stood before the crates and boxes that were stacked high, each one containing a small surplus of the blood mixture that he had formulated through the combination of street drugs and stolen shipments of Sinclair's own mixtures, among other things.

The boxes had begun to take up every inch of available space in their underground hideout, and yet, their current amount wasn't exactly meeting the number needed to satisfy their customers. In other words, they weren't producing enough to meet demands.

That was the power of Alexander's drug; it had his clients coming back almost everyday, begging for more after they used up what they bought the day before. And even though Alexander was getting all of this business, much of which he had taken from Sinclair, he didn't have control over the entire city as he had hoped. There were still clients out there that remained faithful to Sinclair's drug, rather than turning to the red gold that Alexander had offered to so many of them.

"This won't do," Alexander hissed under his breath. He wanted to speed up Sinclair's downfall, the thing he had dreamed of since being Turned into a Vampire in a freak accident. The pace things were going at the moment wasn't satisfactory enough for Alexander. It was quite obvious that just sitting by and taking away all of Sinclair's clients wouldn't be enough.

More action had to be taken. In order to obtain total control over the city, Alexander knew that Sinclair and his group would have to be completely removed from the equation. Alexander looked around at his underlings. They easily outnumbered Sinclair's Clan in numbers, but in strength was a matter in which he was uncertain about.

A good many of his underlings had been taken out by Sinclair's Vampires on missions to steal the Yoru Clan's blood mixture shipments, but Alexander didn't think that would play a major element in his plans. Those that had fallen in the line of duty had been week, untrained and unprepared to be faced with the power of the strongest Blood Ring in the city. That was different now.

The Vampires that Alexander had left were the strongest of his group, and more than capable of holding their own against Sinclair if they fought together in a single unit. There would be no way for Sinclair's Blood Ring to combat the force of all of Alexander's underlings without at least losing some people in the process.

_Besides, there have been some rumors around the city that all is not well within the Yoru Clan, _Alexander thought to himself. He wasn't sure if those rumors were true; he had heard everything from Vampires leaving the Clan and fights breaking out among the members.

But if the stories that Alexander had heard had any truth behind them, then the best time to strike was now, when Sinclair and his Clan were too busy with their own problems. A small grin then played on Alexander's lips.

If all were to go well with their upcoming confrontation, and if he were to win, then Alexander would finally be able to exact his revenge on Sinclair, to spill the blood of the Vampire that had, in a chain reaction-like way, caused him to be Turned into a Vampire.

"Sykes!" Alexander called out, his powerful voice bouncing off the concrete walls of the old tunnel system that they called home. Within seconds, Alexander's second-in-command appeared by his side, quiet as ever. "Yes, Sir?" Sykes asked with a bow. Alexander knew that Sykes was no Alucard; the blond-haired Vampire had heard many stories of Sinclair's second-in-command's undying loyalty.

As for Sykes, well, his loyalty could be considered questionable at times, but Alexander didn't dwell on that matter. He figured that if Sykes ever turned on him, Alexander would be more than powerful enough to put an end to the traitor's life.

"I want you to go around and start gathering the underlings," Alexander stated, "I've grown tired of waiting, Sykes. So, I'm taking action into my own hands. By this time tomorrow night, we will confront Sinclair and destroy him and his Clan. Then, and only then, we will have complete control of the city."

Sykes kept an indifferent expression on his face, obviously not thrilled by the notion, but not apprehensive about it either. Sykes bowed slightly and said, "If that's what you want, then so be it, Sir. I will begin having the underlings gather and prepare themselves for the upcoming fight."

The second-in-command turned on his heels and left to go do as he was told. Alexander smiled a triumphant smile and departed the main area of the tunnel system, only to round a corner into a small, dead-end tunnel that he called home. He pushed back the cloth that was nailed into the concrete overhead that was his door, and instantly heard whimpering.

His smile only widened as he looked down at what had been his source of food for the past couple of days. It was a young girl, probably not even in her twenties. Alexander had found her outside of her house one night, taking out the trash. Naturally, he had taken her as a means to add more blood into the supply, but he had noticed that her blood just smelled too good to throw away.

So, he decided to keep her around and enjoy her blood for the next couple of days until she had no more. Alexander knelt down in front of the girl and held her chin in his hand. Her whimpers only grew louder, and her body trembled in fear. She had been a pretty girl, but not so much anymore; not after being Alexander's snack for three days straight. She was thin, and sickly pale, nothing more than a shell of whoever she used to be.

Alexander didn't know her name either, but why should he know the name of his food? "You know, I've said this a million times, but you're blood really has been the best that I've tasted so far out of all of my snacks I've kept here. I'm honestly going to be sad when I get to the last drop," he said as he moved his hand from her face to a strand of her brown hair, which had become brittle and dry as her life had been drained from her more and more each day.

"But I think it will be a bit of a guilty pleasure to get to that last drop tonight before I go into battle tomorrow night, so I am sure I can live with the loss of you and your blood," he mused and brushed her lifeless hair back, exposing her neck.

The girl, even though extremely weak, still had the strength to cry for mercy, to cry for help. Alexander found it humoring that even in the face of death, people still tried to beg for their life. Then again, it hadn't been that long ago when Alexander had been human, that he had done the same thing.

It felt like ages ago when he was normal, when he was something other than a creature that fed off blood and lurked at night. To even think he was human felt like such an alien topic, even taboo at times. It almost felt as if he had always been a Vampire. Alexander drew his lips back, exposing his fangs.

The girl only sobbed more, still crying for help; it would be so much more peaceful when her whimpers would be silenced that night. Alexander sunk his fangs into the girl's neck, which was littered with gashes, holes, and scars from the past several days of being a late night snack. And after several gulps of the sweet, crimson fluid, her cries ceased, and her body went still.

To Alexander, there was some kind of satisfaction of taking that lost drop of blood, that last bit of life from something and feeling as the lights go out within the soul. It gave him a sense of power. Alexander removed his fangs from the girl's neck and wiped away the blood around his mouth, which was turned up into a smile.

"That last drop was even better than I thought it could have possibly been," Alexander mused aloud and stood up, brushing the dirt from the knees of his pants. He strode over to his bed, which was nothing more than a mattress on the ground; there were no fancy things in the tunnel system like that which could be found within Sinclair's hidden enclave.

Yet another reason Alexander would be happy to put an end to Sinclair. That way, they could take over the Yoru Clan's enclave and use it as their own, a place fitting and appropriate for the new Blood Ring that would reign over the city.

Alexander laid down on the old mattress and stared up at the concrete ceiling of the tunnel that he called home, his triumphant smile still plastered on his face. He knew by that time tomorrow night, the city would never be the same. Nothing would be the same.

_~O~_

Sinclair shuffled through stacks of papers on his desk, not necessarily for the sake of doing the actual work at hand, but more to keep his mind occupied and away from all of the problems he was suddenly faced with. There was the matter of Zoran, who had mysteriously vanished without a word, and then there was Shun that had to be taken care of. _And the cherry on top of it all is Alexander, _Sinclair thought silently to himself.

Alexander had been strangely inactive for several days, not even bothering to attack Sinclair's blood shipments as often as he had been doing. This was causing the Vampire Lord to worry. With Alexander's sudden change in the amount of attacks on the Yoru Clan, Sinclair couldn't help but feel that the enemy Vampire was plotting something else.

The Vampire Lord sighed heavily and checked the wall clock to his right, seeing the time and taking note that the current shipment of blood mixtures that had been sent out for the night should have just reached their destination, if all had gone well during transportation, that is.

Sinclair sighed and glanced back down at his stack of papers, one of which was the latest records of profit from the blood mixture sales. Naturally, since Alexander introduced his own blood mixture onto the market, Sinclair's profits had gone down more and more each week. Now, there were hardly a fraction of the profits that had been there not a month ago. The Vampire Lord ran a hand through his golden hair.

The amount of money that was being brought in was of no concern to Sinclair; it was just an added benefit to the job. What was really bothering him was the fact that not only was what had become his livelihood was at risk, but also the fact that so many people and Vampires alike in the city had become hooked on Alexander's deadly drug.

The mixture that Sinclair had been producing for years was weak, but with just enough kick to get somebody addicted. The difference though, was that with the blood mixture Sinclair produced, a person had the chance to get clean if they wanted.

That was not the case with Alexander's. The blood mixture of the enemy Vampire was too potent, held too strong of a grip on the victim's mind to have the user try and quit if they wanted. It made Sinclair sick to think that one individual could create something so harmful with so little remorse.

It was cruel and unethical to Sinclair. He didn't like that Alexander had killed hundreds, if not now in the thousands of people within the city, people who could not run because of the city-wide lockdown. Not only was it inhumane, it would also more than likely draw even more attention from the Society; there had already been supposed sightings of Society officials in the city.

Sinclair sighed again and tossed the papers on his desk, then leaned back in his chair feeling tired and drained. It was just too much to take in at once for one man. The Vampire Lord closed his eyes, deciding that it wouldn't hurt for him to probably catch a few minutes of sleep, seeing as rest had become a distant friend to him the past week; he had probably slept no more than twenty-four hours that week.

Just as he was about to drift away, the door to his study swung open, slamming against the stone wall beside it. Sinclair jumped out of chair, startled and completely unaware of what was happening. His eyes then locked onto Alucard, and the Vampire Lord felt his rage boil up a bit.

"What in the hell is your problem, Alucard?" Sinclair snapped, but his building anger started to die down a bit when he noticed the ghostly white color in Alucard's face, and the shocked looked in the second-in-command's purple eyes. Something was wrong. "What happened?" Sinclair asked, his worry mounting at whatever was bad enough to happen to cause Alucard to bolt into his study unannounced.

"The three you sent out to deliver that shipment. Two of them were killed by Alexander's Vampires. The only one that survived the attack just arrived back, but he's not in good shape," Alucard explained. Sinclair bit down on the inside of his cheek and cautiously asked, "Is the one that made it Blighted?"

Alucard remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "We're not sure yet, but more than likely he is. Most of Alexander's Vampires do have Blight, so the odds are very high in this case." Sinclair ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily.

"Great," he muttered under his breath, "Another problem to add onto the list." Alucard broke Sinclair's conversation with himself and said, "There's something else you might want to know as well, Sir." Sinclair turned to Alucard. "And what would that be?" the Vampire Lord asked.

Sinclair's second-in-command took in a deep breath and finally said, "The one that survived the attack, when he got back here and explained what had happened, he mentioned that he was only spared to bring back a message to you from Alexander." Sinclair tensed up a bit. _So, this wasn't just another one of Alexander's usual attacks. _"Go on," the Vampire Lord said calmly, even though he was anything but calm on the inside.

Alucard leaned against the doorframe, as if he was planning on being there a while as they spoke. "Alexander has decided to make his final move. He's asked for us to confront him and his Clan tomorrow night about this time to put an end to all of this for good," Alucard informed him.

Sinclair sat back on the edge of his desk and took this in. This would be the final fight with Alexander that Sinclair had been prepping so many of his underlings for. But even with all of the preparations and progress they had been making, the Vampire Lord suddenly felt a bit of doubt.

Even though most of Sinclair's Clan members were stronger than those involved with Alexander, their enemy still had more numbers. All it would take would be for them to get overwhelmed during the fight. If that were to happen, then it would be game over.

And their was also the factor of Alexander's underlings being Blighted; there was no way all of Sinclair's Vampires would escape the fight without getting infected. The Vampire Lord was already looking at high casualties; not only on his side, but on both.

There was no way Sinclair was going to decline the challenge though. To decline would mean forfeit, and that was unacceptable. Sinclair had dealt enough with Alexander for the past month. He was ready to put an end to it. Sinclair pushed himself off the edge of his desk and said to Alucard, "Inform the Clan to be ready by this time tomorrow to fight. We're going to end this, once and for all."

* * *

I realized there hasn't been an Alexander chapter for a while, so i thought I'd throw one in to help move the story onto the next part. The next couple of chapters will naturally be the fight scenes, of course. And from what you awesome readers have told me, I do epic fight scenes. So, I hope you will all enjoy them and they will live up to your expectations; it's been 45 chapters leading up to the final fight scene, so I hope it will turn out good. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	46. The Plight For Solace

_~O~_

Shun didn't want to stay holed up in his room any longer. Even though he hadn't been there but a couple of days, he was ready to get out, to move about in order to keep his mind on something other than how his life had spiraled out of control so quickly.

Shun needed to think of other things before he ended up going insane. He sat up in his bed and glanced over his shoulder at the bag of blood that hung on the hook overhead. It wasn't like he could just take the IV line out of his arm; he still needed it in order to help along with his recovery. So, instead of taking the line out, Shun reached up and removed the bag from its hook, allowing him freedom of travel now, as long as he carried the bag with him, that is.

He then swung his legs off the side of the bed and lowered his feet down onto the icy stone floor. It seemed like that was what the world had started to turn into; ice. Shun couldn't help but think that since he was Turned, the world had slowly been losing its warmth, its life.

And taking over that warmth was ice that consumed everything it touched with its cold fingers. And with the unconscious murder of his grandfather, that ice felt all the more colder. But yet, Shun had to fight through. He couldn't allow the ice to freeze him in place, to completely dominate his life. At least, not until things with Alexander were taken care of. Whatever would happen after that would have been anyone's guess, because even Shun didn't know.

Perhaps he would just continue to trudge on through the ice. Or he might just allow it to freeze him over if he decided to give up after his mission to get rid of Alexander was accomplished. He would just have to cross that bridge whenever he got there.

Shun, his IV line of blood still in hand, made his way over across his room to the door. Beneath his weight, his legs, which had weakened a bit from the couple of days of being bed-ridden, trembled beneath his weight and acted as if they wanted to give out. But Shun willed them against that and kept his balance enough so that he wouldn't collapse.

He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway and immediately sensed the tension that hung in the air. It was quiet in the enclave, almost too quiet. Perhaps not for during the day, but at the moment, it was late in the night, the time when the other Vampires should have been bustling about with their duties. Shun furrowed his brows in confusion and started down the hallway that led to the main room to see if he could find out what was going on.

As he walked, it felt as if the tension that hung in the air by thin strings was pressing down on him, making it difficult to breathe. After a few minutes of walking through the maze-like hallways, Shun reached the main room. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that the entire Clan had gathered there, leaving hardly any room for somebody to walk to the other side of the massive chamber.

For the most part, the room was quiet except for the occasional murmur or whisper. Shun scanned around the room, trying to find Sinclair or Alucard, somebody that would tell him what was going on. But rather than finding the Vampire Lord or the second-in-command, Shun noticed that all of the Vampires in the main room were armed with weapons, everything from knives to guns.

Shun was taken aback. What had happened during the two days that he had been bed-ridden that had caused what now stood before him in the main room? "Shun? What are you doing up?" a voice asked from the right. Surprised, Shun jumped and quickly turned to see who was speaking to him, only to find Loran. The gray-haired Vampire shook his head and said, "You really shouldn't be up and about in your condition right now."

Using his free hand, Shun ran his other hand through his hair and told Loran, "I know, I know. All I wanted was to get out of the room for a little while and stretch." Loran folded his arms over his chest and sighed heavily. "That's understandable. I don't blame you for not wanting to be cooped up in that room for too long, but you still shouldn't be exerting yourself in your current state," the gray-haired Vampire stated matter-of-factly.

The two remained silent for a moment before Shun finally spoke up and asked the question that had been eating at the edge of his mind since he came into the main room. "So," he started, "What's going on here? Why is everyone gathered and armed?" Loran's expression suddenly grew dark once the question had been asked. "We're getting ready to fight Alexander tonight."

Shun tensed up, and his eyes widened a bit. "Tonight?" he asked, as if not sure he had heard Loran correctly. But the gray-haired Vampire nodded, reassuring Shun that he had heard right. "Yeah. Last night, Alexander sent us a message issuing a challenge for control over the city. Naturally, Sinclair wasn't going to decline. And so, here we are," Loran explained in a grim tone.

Shun looked back out at the massive crowd of armed Vampires, some of which looked more than ready for the coming battle, while others didn't look quite as certain. "Are you going to be going with them as well, Loran?" Shun asked. Beside him, the gray-haired Vampire nodded once.

"Yeah, I have to. I'm not exactly much of a fighter, but I do have skills that I can use in order to help. If anyone is hurt within the range of my abilities to help them, then I have to. We have to have every able-bodied Vampire out there tonight, or else we'll be at even more of a disadvantage number-wise."

Shun cast his gaze down to the ground when Loran mentioned needing all the able-bodied out there to help fight. He was far from being able-bodied enough to go out there and join the fight, and that pained Shun. He wanted to be out there, fighting till he reached the prize at the end of the long road; Alexander.

From there, Shun would fight to earn back what little redemption was left for him. But Shun knew that Sinclair wouldn't allow him to go out there and fight; not in the mental and physical shape that he was in. So, that only left one other option. Shun would have to sneak out from the enclave and join the fight against Sinclair's wishes if he wanted to get a piece of Alexander.

The raven-haired teen could already hear the Vampire Lord's rant about doing something like this, but it would all be worth it in Shun's mind. Suddenly, the quiet chatter among the crowd of Vampires ceased, plunging the room into an uncomfortable silence as Sinclair strode into the room, Alucard trailing right behind. Shun quickly took note that Sinclair was not armed with a weapon like the rest of the Vampires.

_Why would he need to be? He's already powerful enough as it is, _Shun thought to himself, remembering the little power the Vampire Lord had to exert to choke him and pin him down to the ground.

Sinclair now stood in front of the crowd of Vampires and said, "Tonight is the night that we finally confront Alexander and put an end to his Blood Ring. Now, as many of you know, for the past month or so, Alexander has been ambushing our shipments of blood mixture, and stealing away our clients with the product that he claims to be a drug. And, recently as of last night, he has taken the lives of three of our fellow Clan mates; two through violent slaughter, and one through contraction of Blight."

Sinclair paused for a moment, as if to let that last word sink in, and continued. "And I'm telling the truth when I say that we will have casualties in this fight. Alexander has greater numbers than we do, but we have greater strength. The only thing I can tell you all is to keep your guard up in order to combat their pack-like fighting style. If they overwhelm you, then you're more than likely done for. It's the hard truth, but it is the reality that we are being faced with right now."

Many on the Vampires in the crowd, the ones that wore more confident expressions, nodded and held their heads high as they did so. The others, who appeared not quite so sure about what they were getting into, cautiously nodded as well.

Beside Shun, Loran just shook his head and said, "It's going to be a bloodbath tonight, I just know it." Shun could already picture Loran running to the sides of injured, fallen Vampires and trying everything in his power to heal them enough so they can get back into the fight. He knew the gray-haired Vampire would be drained after that night; physically and emotionally.

Sinclair's voice snapped Shun back into attention. The Vampire Lord said, "It is almost time for our confrontation with Alexander. I suggest you all begin preparing yourselves for what is to come as we make our way to our battle site." Sinclair closed his eyes for a short moment, took in a deep breath, and opened them again.

"All of these years, it has honestly been a pleasure to stand beside you all as my Clan, and no matter what happens tonight, victory or defeat, we are still a Clan, still a family. That's all there is to it. We've worked together as one for years, and we will work together as one tonight during one of our darkest times. So, let's go out there tonight and fight with all that we have," Sinclair said, his voice swelling with emotion and power as he spoke.

It was then that Shun finally saw just how much the Clan, the Blood Ring, all of it, meant to Sinclair. It wasn't just some side-project that he had started to keep himself entertained, to keep things unexpected and from getting boring. Maybe at some point it had just been that, but not anymore. It meant so much more, not only to Sinclair, but to all of the Vampires in the Clan.

Beside the Vampire Lord, Alucard knelt down on one of his knees and said, "I just wanted to say that it has truly been an honor to fight for you all of these years, Sir, and if I were to die tonight in the name of this Clan, then so be it. I will go to my grave with no regrets."

Then, in a quiet voice that had turned loud with the number of people speaking, the crowd of Vampires repeated Alucard's last two words. "No regrets," they said. Sinclair smiled and bowed his head slightly as a sign of returned respect. "Thank you, all. Now, I believe it is time for us to go," the Vampire Lord said and strode over to the two massive doors that led out of the enclave. He swung them open, and the crowd of Vampires started to file out of the enclave behind Sinclair.

Beside Shun, Loran said, "Well, looks like it's time I go to. Just take it easy for the time being, Shun. We'll all be back in no time, I'm sure." Loran smiled sadly and meshed into the crowd of Vampires that were leaving. Shun knew that by the tone in the gray-haired Vampire's last statement, that he hadn't been so sure himself. This only made the raven-haired teen want to go out there and fight all the more.

But he would have to wait till the right time to sneak out from the enclave, for there were several Vampires still present that were either too weak to join the fight, or were being used as a last line of resort in case Sinclair did fail during the battle, and were posted to hold down the enclave. Shun started to back down the hallway and return to his room.

When he got back, he closed the door behind him and looked down at the IV line in his arm. There was no way that the line could stay there and not restrict his movements during a fight. So, Shun grabbed hold of the plastic line that was in his arm, and slowly pulled it out until the needle that was stuck beneath his skin was free.

He bit down on his lower lip to deal with the pain, and ended up drawing his own blood from the force that he was biting down with. But once the line was completely out, Shun looked down at his arm and the blood that covered it from the removal of the needle.

He used his hand to wipe away as much as possible before it dried on his skin, and then threw the used IV and bag of blood into the trash can. Shun did not know how long he would have before his body might start craving the drug that had ruined his life, or if it even would at all. But he wanted to take no chances. He would have to work swiftly during the fight and get back to the enclave to resume the treatment as soon as possible.

Feeling that enough time had passed since Sinclair and the rest of the Clan left, Shun peered out of his room and checked the hallways to make sure that nobody was coming. When he was sure the coast was clear, he started down the hallway until he reached the Training Room.

Inside, he found the shuriken that only he used, a dagger, and a pistol that had been left behind. He hooked all of the weapons to his belt and slid the pistol, the last resort weapon, into its holster that was attached to his ankle. Now armed, Shun left out of the Training Room and headed towards the one place that he was sure would have an emergency exit from the enclave; Sinclair's study.

In a few minutes he reached the study. As usual, the door was unlocked, welcoming anyone who wanted to come in at their own risk, to do so. The inside of the study was dimly lit by the torches, but provided enough light for Shun to work with. He began to search around the walls for a possible emergency exit from the enclave, looking behind shelves and cabinets for the outline of another way out.

But he didn't find anything; all of the walls were solid. _Sinclair is bound to have another way out in case something were to happen, _Shun thought, still not believing that the main door was the only way in or out of the enclave. Needing to think this over, he sat down in the leather chair behind Sinclair's desk. And when he did, Shun's feet hit the floor beneath the desk and made a hollow, wooden sound, rather than solid stone like the rest of the floor should have been.

The raven-haired teen knelt down on the floor and threw the rug beneath the desk to the side, revealing a wooden hatch. Shun smiled triumphantly. "That's more like it," he said under his breath as he pulled the hatch open, revealing a wooden ladder that led down into a darkened tunnel.

The dark was no problem for Shun; his enhanced vision and other senses would allow him easy travel through the underground passage. He climbed down the rungs of the ladder and into a cold, stone tunnel that went straight ahead for what seemed like forever.

But Shun knew that the passageway had to end at some point, so he started down the tunnel, listening to the rhythmic sound of his heels as they hit the ground with each step and echoed off the walls to keep himself occupied. After an unknown amount of time, he reached the end of the tunnel, where another wooden ladder led up to what appeared to be another hatch above. Without a moment's hesitation,

Shun started climbing the new ladder and opened the hatch at the top. When he did, cool night air rushed into the tunnel, sending in fresh air that probably had not touched the underground passageway for years. Shun climbed through the hatch and now stood in the middle of the forest that resided far behind the main entrance of the enclave, and was looking right at the city.

He saw that all of the lights were lit up in hopes that they would deter whatever was lurking in the city and killing innocent people. The bright light somewhat hurt his eyes, especially after being in the dimly lit enclave for so long.

But bright light was the last thing that was on Shun's mind. His main focus was on finding Alexander and doing what needed to be done to bring a sliver of solace back to his soul, just enough so that he could go on living with himself after what he had done.

* * *

the fight scene should start the next chapter (at least a portion of it because there's still something else I want to add it). Sorry for not uploading yesterday. I went to see The Lone Ranger with my aunt and then went to Bass Pro Shops with my dad and all of that good stuff. But, that's not important. Please read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	47. First Blood

_~O~_

Sinclair led his Clan through the shadowed alleyways of the city to where their meeting place with Alexander awaited. The night air was cool enough that the Vampire Lord's breath could be seen as a cloudy wisp of fog each time he exhaled.

"So," Alucard whispered to him, "Do we have an exact plan of attack when we get there, Sir?" Sinclair moved a stray lock of golden hair out of his face and said, "It's simple, really. You all hold your ground against Alexander's Vampires, while I go after Alexander myself." Sinclair could see the surprise in Alucard's eyes. "You don't want any back-up to help you out if things get to be too much for you to handle?" the second-in-command asked.

Sinclair shook his head. "No," he said, "I am going to handle this on my own, and I am more than able to do so." Alucard nodded in defeat. It wasn't that Sinclair didn't appreciate his second-in-command wanting to be of assistance, but this was not Alucard's battle with Alexander; it was Sinclair's, and Sinclair's alone.

The Vampire Lord glanced behind himself to observe the expressions of his fellow Clan mates. Some of them looked nervous, which was expected, while others had an aura of confidence. Sinclair turned back around to face ahead of himself and couldn't help but ponder just how many Vampires from his Clan he would lose on that night. He was only hoping that the casualties weren't extremely high on their part.

They cleared the alleyway and stepped into a street. Sinclair quickly took note that they were in the abandoned business district of the city. But even though none of the old shops were open anymore didn't mean that money wasn't still exchanged.

This was the area of the city where many homeless lived, humans and Vampires alike, and it was also one of the central hubs of Sinclair's Blood Rings. Before Alexander came along and started stealing away clients, the place they stood now used to bring in the most money for the Blood Ring.

Now, not so much. All of the previous clients that used to belong to Sinclair, were now victims of Alexander's drug. No longer did the ground that the Vampire Lord stood on feel like it belonged to him. Now, it felt like a foreign land, a place that he was only visiting for a night. But Sinclair had a feeling that after that night, he might reclaim this foreign land and make it his own once again.

"Well, well, right on time, Sinclair," said a voice from the shadows across the street. Sinclair turned towards the direction of the voice just as Alexander stepped out from the shadows. The Vampires of his Clan also began to suddenly emerge from the darkness, appearing up on old rooftops and from blackened alleyways. There were more on Alexander's side than Sinclair had thought, but the Vampire Lord refused to let his worry show.

He had to remain strong for his own Clan, for if the Vampire Lord wavered even the slightest, then the rest of his Clan would crumble in fear. Alexander strode across the street and now stood before Sinclair. Out of the corner of Sinclair's eye, he caught a glimpse of Alucard, who had already drawn his flintlock pistol and had it at the ready. The Vampire Lord motioned with his hand for Alucard to lower the gun.

"There won't be any need for that right now," Sinclair said calmly. He caught a glimpse of his second-in-command as he reluctantly lowered the flintlock pistol. Alexander smiled and said, "You have them so well-trained, Sinclair. I'm truly impressed. If only my underlings were that well-behaved. But sadly, they all have only one thing on their minds, and that's blood."

Alexander's lips turned up into a twisted smile at the last word. Sinclair noticed that, even though no fighting had begun, the air already smelled thick with blood. _From Alexander's Clan, no doubt, _he thought to himself with disgust. The creatures that stood in front of the Vampire Lord could hardly be considered Vampires in Sinclair's eyes. To him, they were nothing but monsters, abominations that have given Vampires bad names for centuries.

"You look lost in thought, dear Sinclair," Alexander said, bringing Sinclair out of his mind's drabble, "If you are worried about us being seen fighting here tonight, then don't be. This city is so scared of the night now that nobody would dare come out if they heard the blood-curdling screams that are soon going to fill the night air. They'll all just stay hidden within their homes with their lights on, huddled in corners and praying that they aren't the next to be killed for their blood."

Sinclair tightened his hands into fists at his side. "That's a sick way to view this, Alexander," the Vampire Lord growled. Alexander only laughed. "You see it as sick and twisted, while I see it as only a natural, human response. It all depends on how one looks at it," the blond-haired Vampire chuckled and pushed his wire-framed glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose.

Alexander's smile then fell, turning his expression serious. "You've got to remember this, Sinclair, I was once human. So, I know a little bit about human behavior, just like that little pet of yours that you ruined the life of when you Turned does as well."

Alexander's voice was dripping with malice. Sinclair kept a calm composure, though; he wasn't about to let Alexander think that he was getting to the Vampire Lord. "I'm sure he does," Sinclair replied flatly. Alexander narrowed his eyes at the Vampire Lord, then turned around to face his own Clan. "I've grown tired of this needless banter. I say it's time we start settling this," Alexander said, which earned a chorus of agreements from his Clan.

Sinclair glanced over his shoulder at his own Clan and looked them square in the eyes, then gave them a single nod, signaling that they needed to ready themselves for the fight. They nodded back to him to show the Vampire Lord that they understood what was about to happen. Alexander suddenly turned around and shouted, "Kill them! Kill every last one of the Yoru Clan!"

And like a tidal wave, Alexander's Vampires lunged from their hiding places and dove for Sinclair and his Clan. The Vampire Lord dodged several futile attacks from underlings and caught sight of Alexander just as the enemy Vampire dove into a nearby alleyway.

"Tch. Coward," Sinclair said aloud as he darted into the alley after Alexander. Already, the Vampire Lord could smell fresh blood filling the night air, and he knew that there would be only more from there. He knew that by sunrise, the air would be thick and nauseating with the stench of Vampire blood, and that the old, cracked streets would be painted red.

Sinclair came to a halt when he saw that Alexander had stopped running, and now the two stood about twenty feet from each other in the middle of the narrow alleyway. "I was hoping you'd end up following me here. This seems like such a nicer, more peaceful place for us to fight than back there in the carnage of our Clans, don't you think?" Alexander mused and began circling Sinclair like a bird of prey.

Sinclair only remained still and calm. Alexander smiled. "You know, Sinclair, I've heard a lot of stories about how strong of powers you have, and I honestly am very eager to see if they are indeed true," he sneered. The Vampire Lord only inclined his head a bit and said, "And I assure you, Alexander, that you will see those powers plenty when you're on the receiving end of them."

Alexander only laughed, a broken, demented laugh that could only come from somebody damaged in the mind. "That confidence of yours, Sinclair, will be your downfall one day. Perhaps that day will be today." Alexander stopped his circling and lunged for Sinclair, claws and fangs bared.

The Vampire Lord only remained firmly planted in his place, and when Alexander got within less than ten feet of him, Sinclair shot his eyes open and sent a burst of his telekinetic powers barreling into the blond-haired Vampire. The invisible force, which hadn't been the strongest that Sinclair could have conjured, sent Alexander flying back down the alleyway a good thirty feet.

"As you were saying?" the Vampire Lord asked stoically. Alexander made his way back up to his feet and chuckled. "Looks like all of those stories are true. This will be even more rewarding for me when I can finally say that I've killed the legendary Vampire Lord Sinclair!" Alexander charged at Sinclair once again, and the Vampire Lord used his incredible speed to appear behind the enemy Vampire.

When he did, Sinclair dug his claws into Alexander's side, drawing blood and making it fill the night air with the heavy copper scent. Warm, thick blood ran down Sinclair's hand and arm, which made the Vampire Lord turn his nose up in disgust at the thought of having such a lowly creature's blood on his skin. Alexander, on the other hand, screamed out in agony and stumbled back away from Sinclair, putting what the enemy Vampire felt like was a safe distance between them.

"Are you still as confident as you were five minutes ago, Alexander? Are you?" Sinclair shouted in a taunting tone. He was trying to get the enemy Vampire riled up in order to make Alexander make a fatal mistake out of anger or rage. "This…..This is going to be too much fun," Alexander said with a morbid laugh. Sinclair stared at the damaged Vampire in surprise, but quickly shook himself back into focus; he couldn't let Alexander's mind games get into his head.

Sinclair looked back at where the blond-haired Vampire had been struggling to his feet, and found that he was gone. The Vampire Lord began to frantically look around for wherever Alexander may have gone, and just as Sinclair looked to his right, Alexander appeared in a flash. "You're not the only one who's fast, Sinclair."

The Vampire Lord tried to react quickly and get out of the danger zone, but the wind began to suddenly pick up with unnatural speed around Alexander, and next thing Sinclair knew, the wind slammed into him and threw him against the brick wall of the alley. Sinclair felt the air get knocked out of his lungs from the impact, and he struggled to regain his breathing.

"And you're also not the only one who has powers," Alexander said with a wicked smile. Sinclair clutched his sides, which were aching as they tried to quickly heal themselves from being thrown into a brick wall at the speed of hurricane gale force winds. He then forced himself to stand, using the wall behind him as leverage and couldn't help but think, _Looks like I misjudged Alexander…..It won't happen again._

_~O~_

Alice could hear it. She could hear it through the walls and into her dreams. She could hear the screams and shouts, the sounds of flesh being torn by monstrous claws and fangs. Flashing images took over whatever she had been dreaming of at the moment, and she saw it. Vampires. Vampires were fighting one another. The horrific images then became too much, and she jolted awake in her bed.

Her hair was damp with sweat, and her heart was racing. Alice took in several deep breaths to calm herself. _Just another nightmare…..Just another nightmare…But it had felt so real….._She shuddered as if she had suddenly caught a chill in the air, even though the air-conditioner was not running at the moment. "Air….I need some air," she told herself and climbed out of her bed.

Alice made her way over to her window and pulled the curtains back, revealing the city all lit up in the night. She sighed heavily as she started to unlock the latch on the window. As she did so, her mind drifted back to Shun, and she wondered if he had yet to learn about his grandfather's death.

Her heart grew heavy just thinking about the pain he would endure. _What did Shun do to deserve any of what has happened to him? _That always seemed to be the question on Alice's mind when it came to Shun. She shook her head and pulled the window open.

The smell then hit Alice, causing her to cover her mouth and nose with her hands. It was strong, thick and coppery. It was blood. The air smelled of blood. Alice felt her stomach doing flips as it threatened to make her sick, but she regained her composure before it could happen.

That was when she heard it. Out in the distance, she could hear yelling, and then agonizing wails, just like the ones that she had experienced in her dreams. No. No, they hadn't been dreams. What she thought was conjured up by her mind, was really happening. Vampires were fighting each other in the city, and Alice had a feeling that the Clan that Shun was a part of was fighting as well.

Worry welled up inside of her. What if she had heard Shun's cries of pain in her sleep? Alice felt sick again at the thought. But in knowing what was going on, and in knowing that Shun could possibly be in trouble out there, she didn't want to just sit by and do nothing. She didn't want to find out somehow tomorrow that Shun was dead, and that there was something that she could have possibly done to prevent it.

Alice shook her head and ran over to her dresser, where she pulled out a jacket and slung it on. She then snuck out of Marucho's, which wasn't very difficult since everyone else was sound asleep. This made Alice wonder if they couldn't hear the screams, of if they couldn't smell the blood.

Perhaps she was going crazy. _Well, crazy or not, I'm going to make sure Shun is alright, _she told herself defiantly and threw the jacket's hood on over her head to help shield herself from the cold night air.

Alice then picked up her pace and began running in the direction of the sounds of carnage, and the smell of blood. And as she did, she braced herself for whatever horrific sights she might find there.

* * *

Well, nothing new to report. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	48. Close Call

_~O~_

Alucard fired another round, placing the bullet into the chest of a Vampire that was charging at him. The Vampire dropped to the ground and didn't move after that. But just as that happened, another one of Alexander's underlings appeared out of nowhere, taking the place of the one that Alucard just killed.

"They just keep coming," Alucard hissed as he loaded another round into the pistol and fired. He then turned on his heels and ran away from the thick of the fighting that he found himself in. He needed to get away and come up with a plan of action; he just couldn't keep shooting away at anything that came at him. If Alucard did that, then he would run out of ammo in no time.

It then occurred to the second-in-command that that might have been what Alexander's underlings were trying to do; they were trying to extinguish his ammunition and leave him defenseless. Alucard narrowed his eyes in frustration. "Bastards are smarter than they look," he sneered.

Alucard ducked down into a nearby alleyway and did a quick check to see just how many bullets he had left. When he finished his count, he found that he had just a little over forty or so; nowhere near the amount he would have been pleased with.

He sighed in aggravation and loaded another bullet into the flintlock's chamber and peered out from the alleyway at the fighting that was taking place. There was hardly any grace in the battle. But then again, why would there need to be?

This was a fight to the death, not some kind of intricate dance. Alucard wrinkled his nose up. Even though his senses were weak, the smell of blood was strong enough to take his breath away every now and again. It was a putrid scent, one that made the second-in-command wonder if he would be able to stomach the taste of blood for the next couple of days after this battle.

Still peering out from the corner of the alley, Alucard caught a quick glimpse of Loran. The gray-haired Vampire had pulled several injured Clan members out from the battle and was treating their wounds. All Alucard could do was shake his head. _He should have stayed back in the enclave. Whether he can heal minor wounds or not, all he is right now is a liability. _

Alucard was still having a difficult time in trying to figure out why Sinclair had even allowed Loran to go with the Clan to this fight in the first place. As far as he knew, the gray-haired Vampire had no powers, or exceptional fighting skills like the majority of the Clan. _And it's not like Loran is in the best shape since his brother ran off, _Alucard silently thought to himself.

The second-in-command recalled when he learned of Zoran's disappearance. He had been shocked, but not all that surprised; it had only been a matter of time before the troubled Vampire bailed out. But Alucard had been surprised when Loran started blaming himself for Zoran's actions. It wasn't like it had been the gray-haired Vampire's fault; there was nothing that could have been done about it, other than locking Zoran up in a room to keep him from leaving.

Alucard sighed heavily. He knew that there would be a lot of problems for Sinclair to handle within the Clan after Alexander was dealt with, and he sympathized for the Vampire Lord. Alucard knew how much stress Sinclair had been under the past several days, with Zoran's disappearance and Shun's issues stacked on top of the problems created by Alexander.

The second-in-command just hated to know that his leader would have to return to a mountain of problems after dealing with the task that was currently at hand. Alucard shook his head and snapped himself out of his thoughts. He had to get back out there into the fight and help; there was no time to be daydreaming in his thoughts about a tomorrow that was uncertain right now.

He stood up and readied himself to run out from the alleyway and rejoin the battle when he heard the faint sound of something landing behind him. Alucard tensed and quickly turned on his heels, pointing the flintlock pistol in front of him to fire. But the moment that he faced the creature that had snuck up behind him, the Vampire lashed his hand out and slapped the flintlock right out from Alucard's grasp.

The pistol went flying end over end, and eventually landed on the other side of the alley, placing it well beyond the second-in-command's reach. "Try and shoot me with that damn gun again!" the Vampire said with a dark chuckle. Alucard felt his eyes widen.

He hadn't really looked at the Vampire that had attacked him, but upon hearing the maddened voice, he recognized who it was. "Slay?" the second-in-command asked and slowly turned to meet the gaze of the Vampire that stood before him. What Alucard saw might have been Slay at one point, but was no longer the old assassin that worked for Sinclair. The creature before him was nothing more than the shell of Slay, hollowed out from the effects of the Blight that had stolen away his mind.

"Surprised, are we? You really shouldn't be, Alucard," Slay said in a twisted voice that only barely resembled who he used to be. Alucard took small, almost unnoticeable steps back as he slowly tried to get closer to his pistol. "Why, Slay? Why go and help Alexander? He's the one who got you infected with Blight and ruined your life in the first place!"

Alucard could feel his heart racing in his chest; he knew just how dangerous of a fighter Slay was, and the Blight that he was infected with only made him all the more threatening. Slay laughed and said, "Blood, Alucard. I'm helping Alexander for blood. With Blight, as you already know, I have that unquenchable thirst for the crimson liquid now, and Alexander is the only one who can give me however much I need, or want."

Alucard shook his head. "Slay," he started, "Can't you see past the madness that the Blight has put in your head? Can't you see that you're helping the person who did this to you? The one who ruined your life?" The second-in-command knew that trying to get through to Slay was pointless, but he needed to waste a bit more time so he could get within reach of the pistol on the ground.

Alucard took one more small step back and felt the pistol touch the heel of his boot. Now, all he would have to do was reach down quickly, scoop the gun up, and shoot Slay. "It doesn't matter who I serve as long as I can feed my thirst," the old assassin said with a mad gleam in his eyes. Alucard now was seeing what Sinclair had spoken of for years.

He was seeing the horrifying effects of the Blight that the Vampire Lord warned them all about, the cause of all of their strict rules of consuming blood from people, and the reason for being so on edge whenever delivering shipments into the city now. Now that he had seen firsthand the full-effects of Blight, Alucard wanted to put an end to it. He had never thought it was as bad as Sinclair always said it was, but seeing Slay, he knew that it was worse than any description the Vampire Lord could have ever given them.

Alucard took in a deep breath and dropped to the ground, snatching up the flintlock pistol right behind his feet. Slay saw this and quickly reacted. Alucard worked his finger around the trigger and brought it up, pointing the end of the barrel at the ex-assassin.

But when he did, he found that Slay was no longer in front of him. Panic flooded the second-in-command as he began to frantically search around for his target. Something then slammed into Alucard's side, knocking him to the ground and causing his grip on the pistol to falter, sending the gun skidding across the ground and out of his reach once more.

Slay now had the second-in-command pinned to the ground, completely defenseless and at his mercy. Alucard began to struggle against Slay's hold, but it was futile; Slay was stronger, even while Blighted. The ex-assassin smiled a sadistic smile and said, "You know, Alucard, all it would take is one little scratch for you to become infected. That's all it would take. And then, when your mind is slowly slipping away from you, and a never-ending craving for blood takes over, you can let your own Clan mates shoot at you and try to kill you, just as you tried to do to me when I finally lost it!"

Slay drew his hand back, revealing long, razor-sharp claws. Alucard shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself to feel the fiery sting of his flesh being scratched and already accepting his fate. "It's over, Alucard!" Slay said maniacally. There was then a sickening sound of flesh being slashed, and blood gurgling up, but it didn't come from Alucard. Suddenly, Slay's weight left the second-in-command, no longer pinning him to the ground.

Alucard snapped his eyes open and scrambled backwards to get his hands back on his pistol. When he did, he aimed the gun with trembling hands at Slay, who laid on his side and didn't move. Confused, Alucard slowly lowered the gun down and cautiously approached the body of the ex-assassin.

When he got closer, he saw something shiny protruding from Slay's skull; a throwing knife, expertly placed in a kill-zone on a Vampire. Alucard then looked up just as a figure dropped down from the roof of a neighboring building. The figure then ran out from the shadows and into enough light to where Alucard's weak sight could see him. The second-in-command's eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was.

"Shun?" he asked. Shun was breathing heavily, obviously running on pure adrenaline. "Are you alright? He didn't scratch you, did he?" the raven-haired teen asked and glanced over at Slay's body. Alucard shook his head and stood up from where he had been kneeling on the ground.

"No," he replied. Shun let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I got here just as he was about to scratch you and I was worried I might not have acted fast enough." Alucard narrowed his violet eyes at Shun and said, "You weren't supposed to leave the enclave."

Shun shot the second-in-command a look and said coldly, "Yeah, I'm well aware of that. But if I hadn't, then I'm pretty sure you would have just been infected with Blight, correct? So, a simple thank you or sign of gratitude would be appreciated." Alucard closed his eyes and sighed heavily before saying, "Thank you. I am very grateful for what you just did." Shun grinned and said, "That's better."

The raven-haired teen started to leave out of the alleyway and step into the street where the fighting was taking place. Alucard saw this and stopped Shun. "And now what do you think you're doing?" the second-in-command asked. Shun narrowed his eyes at Alucard and said coldly, "What's it look like? I'm going out there to fight." Shun tried to leave again, but Alucard continued to block his path.

"I don't think so," the second-in-command said sternly, "I might be grateful for you saving me a moment ago, but it was Sinclair's strict order that you weren't supposed to join us in this fight. You are in no condition for this. All you'll end up being is a handicap on us out there."

Shun shot a cold look at Alucard and said harshly, "I suggest you move. I didn't rip that IV line out of my arm and sneak out of the enclave just to come all this way and save your sorry behind and then get sent back. No, I came out all this way to get my hands on Alexander and make him pay for all of the grief that he's caused me. So, don't stand in my way."

Alucard stared down at the raven-haired teen in surprise; he hadn't been expecting that kind of response from the young Vampire. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to go any further. It's Sinclair's orders, not mine," Alucard said matter-of-factly. He then reached out to grab Shun's arm and start escorting him away from the battlefront. But the second that Alucard made contact, Shun had grabbed hold of the second-in-command's arm and flipped him over.

The raven-haired teen buried his knee in between Alucard's shoulder blades, pinning him to the ground, and said bitterly, "I told you not to stand in my way, Alucard. I'm running on borrowed time right now. The last thing I have time for is this."

Shun then got up, freeing Alucard, and left out of the alleyway. The second-in-command sat up and stared at where the raven-haired teen had been standing. He then sighed heavily and said to himself, "Sinclair won't be too pleased when he finds out about this…"

* * *

God, my computer is being stupid slow. -.- I hate when it gets like this. I really could use a new one, but probably won't until I go off to college and get a laptop. And that's one more year away. Woo. Well, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	49. A Fatal Blow

_~O~_

Alice stuck close to the shadows as she made her through the dark streets of the city. She didn't know exactly where she was going. All she did know was that the scent of blood kept getting thicker the more she walked towards the abandoned business district of the city, so she just kept heading that way, figuring that it would take her to what she was seeking. Her heart was racing and pounding in her ears.

She didn't know what was to expect to see when she finally found where the fight between the Vampires was taking place. Blood and carnage were to be expected, of course. But she didn't know just how much, and that made her uneasy. She didn't how much blood would be spilled on the streets, or how many fallen bodies of Vampires would be scattered about.

And Alice didn't really want to know, but she had had this feeling that Shun was caught up in the fight, and she didn't want to just stand by when there might be something she could do to help. Although, Alice had little idea of what she could do.

She was just a human, and compared to a Vampire, she had none of their abilities. She didn't have their super-fast speed, their enhanced senses, or their strength. If she were to come face-to-face with another Vampire like she had that night, then there was no way that she would come out alive or uninjured. But Alice didn't care; she refused to sit idly by and listen to the inhuman screams that had begun to fill the night air, not when one of those screams could have been Shun.

Alice picked up her walking pace, urging herself to get to the site of this battle quicker and make herself of use. Perhaps she could distract some of the Vampires by tantalizing them with her blood or something along those lines. _No, Shun wouldn't allow me to do something so careless, _she realized and pushed that idea out of her mind.

The screams that she had just barely heard from Marucho's, suddenly became louder, and the scent of blood was strong enough to make her stomach do a flip. But Alice forced herself to hold it together as she peered around a street corner. When she did, she gasped and drew back around the corner.

She had found the site of the fighting, and she wished she hadn't. The small glimpse that Alice had seen reminded her of the night when she and Shun were ambushed, and how savagely he and the other Vampires had fought. But the scene that resided around that corner was much, much worse than the little tussle that she had witnessed.

It was just like watching some kind of horror movie come to life. There had been more blood than Alice could have even fathomed in her own mind. _And I actually thought I could do something to help this? _she asked herself now that she realized how insane her plan had been.

An inhuman shriek pierced the night air, one that was loud enough to startle Alice and cause her to cover her ears with her hands; she didn't know if the shriek was one of pain, or of victory. She pressed her back deep into the brick wall behind her, wishing that it would absorb her up and silence the noise and extinguish the smell of blood that would never leave her senses after this.

She shook her head and slowly lowered her hands from her ears; there were still shrieks and shouts, but nothing like what she had heard a moment ago. Cautiously, Alice peered back around the corner of the building and looked more closely at the scene in front of her.

She caught glimpses of fangs, claws, and eyes red as the blood that was being spilt. "What do we have here?" a voice purred from behind. Alice felt her eyes widen and her body go tense, but she quickly broke her momentary state of shock and turned around.

When she did, she found herself faced with two Vampires, and memories of the night she and Shun were attacked flashed in her mind. This was just like that night, except this time, Shun was nowhere to be seen, and she was at her attackers' mercy. Alice took a step back in a futile attempt to put some distance between herself and the Vampires, but one of them reached out and grabbed her forearm and pulled her close to him.

She cried out and started struggling against the impossibly strong hold of the Vampire, but it was all for naught. The Vampire that was holding her chuckled in amusement, and then leaned in close to her and sniffed. "Quite the sweet blood you have. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if me and my friend here got a little taste before returning back into the fight," the Vampire mused and Alice could hear him licking his lips.

Tears were starting to sting her eyes, and she struggled all the more against the monster's hold. "Now, now. Why are you fighting so much? I can tell that you've had your blood tasted before. The scent of the one who bite you is still detectable. So, this should be something you're used to, right?" the Vampire purred into her ear and trailed a fingernail along Alice's neck, right where Shun had taken blood from her all that time ago.

Alice tensed up at the touch as she was reminded of the Vampire that had tried to bite her that night while Shun had had his hand's full fighting off the rest. This was different. When she had let Shun drink her blood, it had been because he needed it, and it was because she trusted him not to harm her.

This Vampire, though, was not the same as Shun; none of them were. Alice had almost forgotten that. The two Vampires that were trying to drink her blood this time were monsters. They were nothing like Shun or any of the other Vampires in the Clan that he had told her about.

Alice growled in aggravation as she struggled harder against her attacker's hold. "Spunky, aren't you? Maybe your blood will have some spice to it as well," the Vampire joked and tightened his hold on her. Realizing that trying to break free with her own strength was not enough, Alice brought her foot up and then slammed it down on the top of her attacker's foot.

There was a sickening crunch right before the Vampire yelped in pain and stumbled back. Alice didn't hesitate to run, but her mistake was running down the street where the fighting was taking place. She came to a halt and was about to turn around and flee in the opposite direction, but the Vampire had recovered from having his foot crushed, and he and his partner were already back on Alice, holding her even tighter in their grips.

"Little wench," the Vampire hissed in her ear, "That wasn't very nice. And I was going to be gentle when I drained all of your blood. Ha. Well, you can forget that now." The Vampire grazed Alice's skin with his fangs as he tried to find a good place to tap into her veins.

When he did, he started to rear back in order to plunge his fangs into her neck. Alice shut her eyes tightly, and in an act of desperation, cried out, "Help! Somebody! Help! Shun! Anybody!" Alice didn't really expect anyone to hear her over the sounds of the warring Vampires, but she didn't see any harm in trying.

She then felt as two, razor-sharp fangs landed on her neck and started to pierce her skin just as a throwing knife came barreling end over end, plunging into the shoulder of the Vampire that was biting Alice. He screamed and stumbled back, staring at the knife in his shoulder in total shock.

The Vampire then pulled the knife out of his shoulder and threw it on the ground, then locked his demonic eyes on something past Alice. Curious, she turned around and found Shun standing there with another knife at the ready in his hand, fear and rage flooding his eyes.

_~O~_

Shun had already cut down several of Alexander's Vampires that had gotten in his way. Although, the raven-haired teen wasn't all that concerned in knowing whether or not he had killed any of them that he fought; his main concern was finding Alexander. But despite searching high and low through the crowd, Shun hadn't seen a single glimpse of his primary target.

While still searching the crowd for the millionth time, Shun took a step back and nearly tripped over somebody kneeling on the ground. Thinking he might be in danger, the raven-haired teen already had a shuriken at the ready, but lowered it when he saw Loran there, tending over an injured Clan mate. The gray-haired Vampire looked up, and gray eyes widened in surprise.

"Shun? What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be back in the enclave!" Loran snapped. Shun held up his hand to stop the Vampire's rant. "Yeah, yeah. I've already heard this speech once tonight from Alucard. But I've got business to take care of here, and I'll leave as soon as it's done," he said and started to walk away from Loran.

But the gray-haired Vampire jumped up, leaving the injured Clan mate behind. "Shun, you shouldn't be in the middle of this! You're in no shape!" Loran snapped. Shun cut a glare over at the young-Vampire and said, "Shouldn't you be tending to that Vampire back there?"

Loran's face grew grim and he shook his head. "No, there's no point. His injuries are too severe. There's nothing I can do…Do you know just how much death I've seen in the past hour? A lot, let's just leave it at that. And the last kind of death I want to see is yours because you were too stubborn to stay in the enclave and wanted to do something stupid," Loran said darkly.

Shun was about to retort back with his argument about needing to put an end to Alexander when he heard somebody shouting over all of the sounds of fighting. "Help! Somebody! Help! Shun! Anybody!" Shun tensed up and desperately began to try and see through the crowd of fighting Vampires that was obstructing his view.

_It can't be. What the hell would she be doing here? _he thought frantically to himself. Shun then felt the world come to an abrupt halt when he saw Alice through a gap in the crowd. One of Alexander's Vampires had a hold on her and was just about to bite into her neck.

Shun didn't even realize he had reacted until he already had. The throwing knife he had had in his hand suddenly went flying through the air and embedded itself into the shoulder of the Vampire that had a hold on Alice. Shun then started pushing through the crowd, trying desperately to get over to Alice because he knew that he had not landed a kill shot with that knife.

He finally broke through the mass of warring bodies and met the enraged eyes of the Vampire he had hit. They glowed a demonic red like nothing Shun had ever seen before. But Shun knew his own eyes must have been filled with anger. Anger at the fact that he had almost been too late to save Alice, and anger at her for showing up at this place.

"You'll pay for that!" the enraged Vampire shouted and ran at the raven-haired teen. Shun quickly pulled another shuriken and got ready to throw it and place a definite kill-shot when something landed on his back and brought him down to the ground. Over his shoulder, Shun saw that another Vampire had pounced on him in a sneak-attack, pinning the raven-haired teen to the ground.

He started to try and throw the Vampire from his back, and ended up shaking him off. But when did, Shun felt four claws dig into his flesh and run down his back. He cried out and in one fluent turn, landed the shuriken right in the heart of the Vampire that had been pinning him down.

Shun then reached to touch his back and felt the warm, stickiness that was his own blood. His eyes widened and his hands began to tremble. Shun knew what these scratches could mean for him. If the Vampire that had scratched him had been Blighted, then… "Shun!" Alice shouted, snapping the raven-haired teen back into focus.

He then remembered that there was still another Vampire that he had to worry about; the one who had been trying to drink Alice's blood. Shun turned around just in time to see that the other Vampire had Alice again, and an evil smirk played on his lips.

"Look what I have," the Vampire spat, "She's obviously of some importance to you for you to defend her. It would be a shame if I drained her dry right here in front of you after such noble acts." Shun started to reach for another shuriken, but froze when he realized that he had none left.

"Damn," he hissed under his breath and looked back at the Vampire that was holding Alice hostage. He had to act quick. Shun closed his eyes and tried to focus, to block out the throbbing claw marks in his back, to block out all of the screaming and sickening sounds of blood being shed.

He then snapped his eyes open, sending forth an invisible force conjured by his telekinetic abilities. This unseen force slammed into the Vampire and sent him flying backwards without so much as grazing Alice. The Vampire didn't move after that, which told Shun that it had been a definite kill.

Alice must have realized this as well, for she broke out into a dead run and latched onto Shun, holding onto him for her dear life. He then felt her tense up, and she slowly let go and looked at her arms, which were caked with his blood from the wounds on his back.

"Shun…..You're hurt," she said in shock. Shun shook his head and told her, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He knew that he might have just lied to her. If the Vampire that had scratched him had, in fact, been Blighted, then it wouldn't be much longer for Shun to start feeling the effects of it.

Loran then broke free from the battlefield and said breathlessly, "I saw all of it, but just couldn't get out from there." The gray-haired Vampire ran up to Alice and checked her neck, then let out a sigh of relief. "It looks like he just barely broke the skin. That's good. I wasn't able to tell from where I was standing if he had bitten-"

Loran stopped talking and stared with wide eyes at the back of Shun's bloody shirt. "I didn't see that though," he said as he made his way around to the raven-haired teen's back. Shun just barely heard the small gasp escape Loran. "God, these are deep," Loran said, his voice growing heavy.

Just like Shun, the gray-haired Vampire knew what those claw marks could mean. "Yeah, I know," the raven-haired teen said with a heavy heart. Loran ran back around to face him and asked, "How are you feeling right now?" Shun hesitated for a moment while he thought about it.

He finally said, "Fine….For right now….They just sting at the moment…." Alice glanced back and forth between Loran and Shun. "What's going on? They're just scratches, right? He'll heal in no time," she said, her voice growing a bit desperate. Shun glanced down at Alice for a moment, then looked over to Loran and told him, "Get her away from here and somewhere safe."

Alice's brown eyes, which were gleaming with tears, widened when she heard this. "What? No! I came all this way to help you! And I'm not going to leave you now that you're hurt! It's my fault you got hurt in the first place! Let me help!" she pleaded.

Shun shook his head and told her firmly, "No, you need to get out of here. It's not safe, and there isn't much you'll be able to do in the means of help. You almost got yourself killed, and do you honestly think I could live with myself if you got hurt out here?….Alice, I know I told you I could keep you safe, but not in a situation like this. Now, just go with Loran. He'll get you somewhere safe and stay with you there."

Loran nodded and took Alice's wrist in his hand. "Come on," the gray-haired Vampire told her, "Let's get you out of here." Loran started leading her away, and for the longest time, Alice kept turning around to look at Shun, her eyes begging and pleading for him to change his mind, to allow her to stay.

But Shun wasn't about to do something like that. This was a war zone, a place where if he took his eyes off her for one second, she could be ripped to pieces. And there was the matter of whether or not he was really Blighted. If Shun was, then the moment he slipped away, he would begin seeking out blood to fill his unquenchable thirst, and Alice would be the only source of human blood for miles.

_Which means I would attack her without remorse. _Shun closed his eyes for a moment, took in a deep breath, then reopened his eyes and stared at the mass of warring Vampires in front of him. With the claw marks throbbing on his back, he knew that he might be even more pressed for time now to find and put an end to Alexander.

Shun then reached down into the holster next to his ankle and retrieved the pistol it held. He then loaded a round into the chamber and fired it into the crowd of Vampires.

* * *

I had to start this chapter a little late today, seeing as my dad refused to get off the computer. -.-'' Yeah. Well, big big chapter right here, and yet it is still not the climax. There will be much more, I promise. Hope you enjoyed it! Read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


	50. Dust To Dust

_~O~_

Loran dragged the orange-haired girl behind him as he ran as fast as his two legs would take him. She had fought against him for a little while, but eventually the fight had drained out of her, and she allowed him to lead her without a struggle, which was a relief on Loran's part; he hadn't ever quite met a human with this much fight in them. Loran glanced over his shoulder at the girl and told her, "Don't worry. We won't be running much longer."

She only looked at him with her tear-stained eyes for a quick moment before adverting her gaze and nodding her head to show that she understood. Loran continued to pull her along until they reached an old warehouse. "This place should do for now," he said as he tried the doorknob, only to find that it was locked. He sighed in aggravation and brought his foot up, breaking the lock with one well-placed kicked.

The thin, rusty door flung open and slammed against the wall, creating a loud echo that reverberated through the warehouse. Behind him, the girl asked cautiously, "Why this place?" Loran stepped inside and, out of habit, tried the light switch on the wall. Naturally, none of the lights worked.

"It's a good distance away from all the fighting, meaning that we shouldn't have any worries of being attacked. Plus, this place is huge, so it should give us plenty of places to hide in the event that we are discovered and ambushed," Loran explained and began to rummage around in boxes.

He was looking for a flashlight, candle, anything that he could use to let the girl have some light in the dark warehouse. Because, unlike Loran, he knew that she didn't have enhanced vision, meaning that she was completely blind while in the dark.

But sadly, the gray-haired Vampire couldn't find anything in any of the boxes or drawers that he searched through. He sighed and kicked a box out of frustration. _I really should be back with the rest of the Clan and treating their wounds. Not here….But Shun asked me to watch her and keep her safe, so what else was I supposed to do? Tell him no? Especially with him being injured now?…_

Loran shook his rampant thoughts away before they got the better of him. There wasn't any time for him to be dwelling on things like that; not when he had a task at hand. Loran then heard the sound of wood being splintered, and when he looked over at the source of the sound, he found the girl had made her way over to one of the boarded-up windows.

In her hands she held a hammer, which she had worked underneath one of the boards and was trying to pry it off. "Hey, let me help you," Loran said and jogged over to her side. She nodded and allowed him to take the hammer from her. He then resumed where she had left off, but being that he was much stronger than a mere human, Loran had little difficultly getting the boards off the window.

When the last two-by-four was removed, light from the partially full-moon filtered into the warehouse, filling a portion of the room with light. "That was a really smart idea," Loran told the girl, but she didn't say anything in response to him.

He glanced down at the hammer in his hands, then said, "Well, I think I might work a few more boards off these windows to let a bit more light in." He didn't hang around for her to say something back to him. Instead, Loran went straight to work and freed up three more windows, which allowed enough light into their warehouse hideaway to almost illuminate the whole building.

He wiped sweat from his brow. "There we go. That's much better, isn't it?" he mused more to himself than to the girl. Loran looked back at over at the girl, who had sat down on the floor in front of one of the freed-up windows, and made his way back over to her and sat down beside her.

"Hey," he started, "I know you're worried about Shun, but I assure you that he'll be alright." Loran felt a sick knot form in the pit of his stomach when he told her that. What right did he have to make an assumption about whether or not Shun would be alright?

For all he knew, Shun might have already fallen victim to Blight. The thought left a sick taste in Loran's mouth. "How long will we have to stay here?" the girl suddenly asked, her brown eyes scanning around the four walls of the warehouse. Loran leaned back against the metal wall and told her, "Probably until the sun starts to rise, just as a safety measure."

The girl nodded, then brought her knees close to her chest and rested her chin on them. Loran then began to look closely at her. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place whether or not he had seen her before. It then struck him. "You're that girl that Shun brought back to the enclave several nights ago, aren't you?" he asked.

Loran had heard Sinclair and Alucard ranting about Shun bringing a human back with him, and he had only caught a quick glimpse of Shun and his guest as they were leaving the next morning; the only thing Loran remembered about the person he saw, was the it was a girl with bright orange hair.

The girl nodded in response to Loran's question. He smiled and told her, "I thought you looked familiar." A moment of silence then passed between them, leaving the air heavy in an awkward tension. Loran wanted to keep the conversation going, or else he would end up losing it in the silence. "You know, I don't think either one of us have had a proper introduction. I'm Loran," he said and extended his hand out to the girl for her to shake.

The girl stared at his hand for a moment, then took it and said, "Alice." They shook their hands, breaking down the barrier that was there as strangers, and crossing over into the ground of acquaintances. "So," Loran began, "Have you known Shun for a long time?" Alice glanced over at the gray-haired Vampire, as if weighing whether or not he was somebody she could talk to.

She finally turned to fully face Loran and said, "Yeah, I've known him for several years." Loran nodded and decided to keep the conversation alive as best as he could; it would help speed up their time stuck in the warehouse. "And you quite obviously know he's not exactly human anymore. How did you react when you found out?"

Alice tilted her head back and stared up at the ceiling as she thought to find the correct way to form her answer. She finally said, "I guess a little skeptical at first, but the more I thought about it, I kept realizing that this was Shun. The more I kept trying to rationalize all of it, the more it occurred to me that Shun wasn't the kind of person that would make up some story about Vampires and all of this stuff. So, I didn't have much choice but to believe him, especially when he so clearly needed somebody to be there for him and help him get through it."

Loran then noticed that Alice had placed her hand on the side of her neck, but he thought nothing of it. "Well," he said with a smile, "I think it's nice for a human to sacrifice everything that they thought they knew in order to accept a complete change to their reality, all in the name of being supportive for a friend."

Loran's smile then wavered. What he had just said reminded him of his situation with his brother. Loran had sacrificed everything he knew as the truth to help his brother have something as close to a regular life as possible. _And yet, look how that worked out for the two of us, _Loran thought darkly.

Now, Zoran had gone off God-only-knows where without so much as even a good-bye to anyone. So, it was only natural for Loran to fret over whether or not his brother, his own flesh and blood, was safe. The gray-haired Vampire was brought out of his own thoughts by Alice's soft voice.

"Be honest with me," she said, "Is Shun really going to be okay?…Because I saw the way you reacted when you saw his injuries….You looked like you had just seen Death himself….So, tell me the truth….Is he going to be okay?" Loran closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, then looked at Alice and said with all seriousness, "I don't know. I really don't know." Alice nodded and wiped a tear from her eye before it had the chance to spill over.

It was then that Loran really saw just of how much importance Shun meant to this girl, and vice versa. The gray-haired Vampire was about to say something to try and comfort Alice, but stopped when he heard footsteps outside of the warehouse.

He reacted quickly, latching onto Alice's wrist and pulling her up to her feet. "What are you-" But Loran didn't give her a chance to finish her question before he placed his index finger over his lips. "Shh!" he whispered to her, "There's somebody outside." Alice stared at him, confusion clear in her eyes. "How do you-" Again, he cut her off before she could get the rest of her sentence out.

He pointed to his ears, signaling that he had much stronger hearing than she did. The door to the warehouse, which had closed halfway on its own, was suddenly swung open again, and four figures stepped into the warehouse.

Loran had to work quick; he couldn't allow anything to happen to Alice. Not now, not when he knew just how important this girl was to Shun. If something happened to her while she was on Loran's watch, then Shun would never forgive him.

_~O~_

Alice was about to cry out when the door was suddenly flung open, but Loran's hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her cries of distress. "Shh," he whispered in her ear, "Be very quiet. I have it to where they can't see us, but they can still hear us if we're not careful."

He then slowly lowered his hand from her mouth. Alice stared at him in confusion. He had it to where they couldn't be seen? Wanting to see what Loran had done, she looked straight ahead and came face-to-face with a translucent, silver mist that had formed a wall between them and the small group of Vampires that were now roaming about in the warehouse in search of them.

Alice found herself reaching out to touch the silver mist, but Loran's hand shot out and kept her just out of reach. He shook his head said quietly, "Don't touch it. If you do, then your hand will go through and they'll see it." Alice nodded and quickly made a note to not step out from the mist that Loran had put around them.

Four Vampires had entered the warehouse and were tearing it apart in search of her and Loran. One of them growled and said, "I know I saw them come this way! I can even smell that human girl's scent in here. Damn…Alexander told us not to let any of Sinclair's people run. He'll be pissed at us if we let these two get away!"

The three other Vampires nodded and began to overturn even more boxes. Alice felt herself smiling smugly; they couldn't see her and Loran behind their wall of mist. So, they could search all they wanted to, but wouldn't find them.

She then glanced over at Loran to give him a thumbs up, but stopped herself when she saw that the gray-haired Vampire looked at if he were about to pass out. He had leaned against the wall behind them for support, and sweat was pouring from his forehead.

His breathing was ragged, as if he couldn't quite get enough air, and his hands were trembling. Worry started to build within Alice. What was wrong with him? Loran started to slide down to the ground, and Alice quickly grabbed him and slowly lowered him down, rather than letting him collapse.

"Loran!" she whispered as quietly as possible, "Loran! What's wrong? Loran! Talk to me!" Alice then saw that the silver wall of mist around them was starting to dissipate into thin air, and her panic started to mount. If that mist vanished, then they would be visible to the eyes of the four Vampires in the warehouse with them. Alice shook Loran's shoulder and whispered desperately to him, "Loran, please! Stay awake! Please!"

He then opened his gray eyes and forced himself to stand, using the wall behind him as a means to help push himself up to his feet. One of the Vampires that was searching the room stopped walking and looked over in their direction.

"I think I heard something over there," he said and motioned for the other three Vampires with him to follow. Now, all four of them were heading straight towards the silver mist. Alice jumped up to her feet and took several steps backwards until her back was pressed against the steel wall. Loran glanced over his shoulder and said to her between pants, "Close your eyes…I'm going to drop the barrier….."

Alice felt her eyes widen. "What?" she shouted, no longer caring whether or not she was heard, "Loran! What are you thinking!" The four Vampires of the other side of the mist suddenly started looking around the warehouse as they tried to pinpoint Alice's location.

Loran told her again, "Just do what I said and close your eyes!" When she saw the silver mist starting to vanish, she did what Loran told her and shut her eyes, mainly so she wouldn't know when the four Vampires would attack. All she heard was one of the Vampires shout, "There they are! Get them!"

Alice shut her eyes tighter, as if it would make a difference. But rather than feeling claws and fangs dig into her skin, she could see a brilliant flash of light through her closed eyes, and then the sound of shrieks of pain. The light then vanished, but Alice kept her eyes shut tight; she was too afraid to open them. "It's…..It's okay now…..You can….You can open your eyes now," Loran said weakly.

Cautiously, Alice opened her eyes and saw that there was no sign of the four Vampires that had previously been standing no more than four feet from them; the only thing that was where they had been, was a small pile of dust, which was blown away when a small breeze blew through the warehouse.

Alice felt her confusion starting to take over, and she turned to Loran to ask what had happened. But before she could even get the first word out of her mouth, Loran collapsed onto the ground. Alice's eyes widened and she quickly ran to the gray-haired Vampire's side.

"Loran!" she said and tried to shake him awake, "Loran! Wake up! Loran!" But it was clear that he was completely unconscious, and not about to wake up anytime soon. Alice sat back and leaned against the steel wall. Her eyes then shifted over to the small remnants of dust that remained on the floor, and she then looked back over at Loran's unconscious form.

_What did he do? _she asked herself. But it quickly occurred to Alice that perhaps it didn't matter what Loran had done; the most important thing was that they were both alive and in one piece. Loran had saved her. That was all that mattered.

* * *

the big chapter number five-o. I honestly did not think this story would end up being this long. o.o'' Goes to show you that you can get a lot of ideas as you keep writing. Well, big chapter here, yet still not the climax of the story. Nope, there's still a lot more that is about to go on. But I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	51. Simple Understanding

_~O~_

Loran slowly opened his eyes, only to find that Alice was kneeling beside him. Her brown eyes were filled with worry and panic, but the moment she saw that he was waking up, relief flashed through them. "Thank heavens, you're awake," she said and smiled a bit. Loran stared up her for a moment before he finally sat up.

His body was still fatigued from the fight, so he had a bit of difficulty at first. And even though he tried to keep this hidden, Alice picked up on his distress. "Do you need some help?" she asked. Loran shook his head and said with a smile, "No, I've got it." He finally got himself into a sitting position, then moved back a bit so he could sit against the steel wall.

The cool metal hit his back, stinging at first until he adjusted to it, which then it began to provide some relief to his aching muscles. Alice moved a bit and sat beside him. They sat in silence for a moment before Loran finally said, "Go on and ask me what is bothering you."

Alice stared at him, and for a moment, Loran thought she might deny something being on her mind, but she proved him wrong when she said, "I was just wanting to know why you collapsed earlier and…What….What exactly you did to those Vampires." Loran figured that the reasons for his collapse had been prying on her mind; it would have done the same to anyone who didn't know much about him.

The gray-haired Vampire shut his heavy eyes for a moment, resting them so he might be able to stay alert for a little bit long, and then reopened them and said, "As you may or may not know, most all Vampires have some kind of power or special abilities; it's pretty rare if one doesn't. But I am no exception to most Vampires. I have powers that are my birthright as a Noble Vampire alone."

Alice nodded. Perhaps what Loran was telling her was making sense, or maybe it wasn't; it wasn't always easy for the gray-haired Vampire to read humans sometimes. He took in a deep breath, exhaled, and continued. "But to answer one of your questions, my powers were the reason that I collapsed. You see, unlike most Vampires who spend their time honing their skills and trying to get stronger, I never did. Because of this, my body just can't handle the stress put on it whenever I do use them, thus causing me to grow weak and tired..…I didn't ever like using my powers in general, but there were some circumstances with my brother that also made me refuse to use them even more."

A knot formed in Loran's stomach. Here was yet another thing he had sacrificed for his brother's sake, and all Zoran did was throw all the gray-haired Vampire's sacrifices back in his face and show that they were all for naught. With all of the things that Loran was realizing that he did for Zoran meant nothing to his brother, it was getting somewhat difficult to keep himself from harboring ill feelings.

But the gray-haired Vampire kept reminding himself that Zoran was still his brother, still his flesh and blood. Loran snapped back to reality when he heard Alice ask him, "What kind of circumstances with your brother do you mean? Did perhaps he not have any powers and you didn't want him to envy you because you did?"

Loran was surprised by Alice's guess, thinking that it was a very educated guess, but she wasn't right. "No," he said with a shake of his head, "My brother has powers as well, although he never used them all that much either, to my knowledge, at least. I kept from using my own powers because our father was abusive to my brother, and I wanted to show him that the world wasn't as violent as the one we lived in…..I wanted to try and show him that through peaceful means, the world could become perhaps just a little less cruel."

Loran suddenly felt a small surge of anger when he thought about the words he just said. It had been a hopeless cause, especially when it was a cause that Zoran wanted nothing to do with, but he had kept fighting for that cause for his brother, even when it seemed pointless at times.

_I gave up so much for him…., _he thought bitterly. It angered him that Zoran never spoke up until recently, that his brother never once said that he wanted Loran to stop with his quest. What made it worse was the fact that Zoran, whether or not he wanted Loran's help, didn't even bother to thank the gray-haired Vampire for all that he gave up in the name of helping him out.

"Your brother sounds like he is very fortunate to have somebody that cares so much about him," Alice stated. Loran let out a humorless chuckle. "You'd think that, but recently I found out he didn't give a crap about the things I gave up for him or all of the things I put up with all these years," Loran spat. He was surprised by the venom behind his words. Did he really have such toxic feelings towards his own brother now?

Perhaps if Loran thought of better times he had had with his brother, then the ill feelings wouldn't be as strong. But when the gray-haired Vampire thought about it, there weren't many 'better times' he had had with his brother. In all of their time together, it always seemed that Loran was the one smiling and being a part of whatever was going on, while Zoran had always been the complete opposite.

They were like two sides of the same coin. One side might have been shiny and pleasant to look at, and the other side worn down and faded, undetectable. Loran had always seemed to be the one who was in the light. He had been their father's favorite and spared from the relentless beatings that his brother received almost on a daily basis.

Zoran, on the other hand, seemed to have always been in the dark, trying to be independent but unable to be because Loran had always treated him as though he were helpless. The gray-haired Vampire jumped when he suddenly felt something touch his hand. He looked down and saw that Alice had placed her hand on his in a comforting gesture.

"It doesn't matter whether your brother was grateful or not for all that you did for him. What's important is that you were trying to help him and that all the things you did were in the best intentions, right?" Alice said and smiled warmly.

Loran couldn't understand how a human, one who learned that Vampires weren't myths, and who had faced near-death several times in one night, could still smile. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Most humans, if they had made it this far without thinking they were crazy, would have been huddled up in a corner in shock. And yet, here Alice was, still smiling and acting as though everything was normal.

_Perhaps she's already gone crazy and just accepted it, _Loran thought. But the more he dwelled on it, the less that seemed possible. Alice just didn't seem like the kind of human to do something like that. "I guess you're right," he said, remembering that she had asked him something before he started drabbling on in his mind.

"But it still doesn't make me feel too good in knowing that he didn't even care enough to consider all that I had to give up for him and thank me for it," Loran said bluntly and realized just how selfish that sounded. But he felt that he had a right to be selfish for once in his life; he had been considerate of others for years, never once hardly thinking of himself or his own well-being.

Loran felt that he was entitled to be selfish this one time. Alice looked at him with concerned eyes and asked him, "But do you really want that to be what tears you and your brother apart? Loran, you're obviously still raw about whatever happened between you two, but I assure you that if you give it time, then these hostile feelings you have right now will fade, and when they do and you're ready to speak to your brother again, he might not be there because of it. Do you really want that?"

Loran stared at Alice for a moment, then adverted his gaze down to the floor as he thought. He finally said, "No, I don't want to lose my brother. He's the only real family I have left since we left home." There was a small ache that formed in Loran's chest.

It was true; Zoran was his only true family. The gray-haired Vampire didn't really consider their mother and father as family anymore, not after all that they put the two brothers through. And Sinclair and the Yoru Clan might be family, but they weren't flesh and blood. _No, I don't want to lose that. _Loran hadn't really thought that the hostile thought he had been harboring against Zoran might result in the loss of the last family he had, and now that he thought about it, the sheer possibility made him sick to his stomach.

And much to his own surprise, Loran found himself smiling. He looked over at Alice and told her, "Thank you for your advice, Alice." She smiled back at him with a warm smile, one that could probably even melt Alucard's heart if he let it, and said, "It's not a problem, Loran. I'm happy to have been of some help, even in the midst of this entire mess."

A thought occurred to Loran when she mentioned the so-called 'mess,' or better known as the fighting between the Clans. "Crap. That slipped my mind," he said and felt his panic rising, "We might fall under another attack like earlier, and if we do, then there's no promise that I'll be able to fight them off again….Not for a while, at least." Alice stared at him in confusion and asked, "Well, what do you suggest we do, then?"

Loran, using the wall as leverage, pushed himself up to his feet. His weakened legs wobbled beneath his weight, threatening to send him falling back to the ground. But he leaned against the wall enough to remain standing.

"We need to relocate. All it will take is another group of Alexander's underlings to follow the scent of the ones that attacked us earlier. Next thing you know, another group will be here and we'll have to do the same thing again. And I have a feeling that if another little search party is sent out that it will be at least double in size," he explained.

Loran tried to take a step forward, but his legs buckled, but Alice caught him before he could complete his fall. She supported him by draping his arm over her shoulder. "Loran, do you really think you should be moving right now?" she asked in a skeptical tone.

In all truths, he probably shouldn't be pushing his fatigued body to limits that it had already reached. But Loran knew for a fact that there would be another search party of Alexander's underlings coming after them, and if they stayed in the warehouse, then they would have to fight again, and Loran was in no shape to handle another bout of his powers. And without using his powers, he knew he knew that he stood no chance against another Vampire.

So, the best thing for them to do was to move and get out of dodge while they still could. "It doesn't matter whether or not I should be moving. We lost precious time while I was unconscious and while we were talking, so we need to get moving," Loran said urgently. He tried to take several steps forward, but Alice held on tight to his arm and kept him from gaining any ground.

"Alright, if you're so dead-set on this, then fine. I understand the urgency for this. But is there anything that can be done to maybe get some of your strength back to you quicker to make this easier?" she asked. Loran shook his head and told her, "No, there's nothing that would help other than if I drank some blood to help myself recover, but there's no-"

He couldn't get the rest of his sentence out before Alice suddenly thrust her wrist in front of his face. "Take my blood then," she said defiantly. Loran stared at Alice as if she had lost her mind.

"No," he told her and tried to push her arm away from his face, "I'm not going to take blood from you. Not only is it against Sinclair's rules and can possibly be detrimental to not only my health but yours too, there's also Shun. He might not take too kindly to me taking blood from you, and I don't want to lose his trust and let him think lowly of me."

Alice narrowed her eyes at him and said stubbornly, "But think of it this way. If taking some of my blood means that you'll regain your strength, then you'll be able to make sure that I stay safe. Do you honestly think Shun will be angry if you drank my blood in order to ensure my safety?" Loran couldn't help but acknowledge that she had made a solid point.

But he shook his head and told her, "It doesn't matter. It is against our Clan's rules to take blood from a human, so even if I wanted to, I could face serious problems later on if it was ever found out. Besides, why is a human even this eager to give blood to a Vampire on their own free-will? Usually people are terrified of it."

Alice's eyes widened a bit in surprise, but lowered as she adverted her gaze away from Loran. He also noticed that she was holding onto the side of her neck again. Loran had seen her do that earlier, but had ignored it. Now, it seemed to raise a red flag. "I'm not scared to have my blood taken because it's already happened. I know what to expect," she admitted. Loran felt his eyes widen in surprise.

"Shun?" Loran asked, even though he had a feeling that he was right. Alice nodded and quickly said, "But it was for an emergency. He didn't want to, but he was falling into Bloodlust at the time. It was either that or possibly hurt our friends or innocent people. It couldn't be helped." Loran ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "God, Shun, what else have you done that Sinclair wouldn't approve of?" the gray-haired Vampire asked to himself under his breath.

But apparently Loran hadn't asked quietly enough because Alice suddenly asked him, "Has Shun done something else that might have gotten him in trouble?" Loran could hear the genuine worry in Alice's voice, but he just didn't think he could bring himself to tell her that Shun was trying to recover from a drug addiction; he didn't want Alice to think badly of the raven-haired teen.

"No, no. It's nothing. He just wasn't supposed to be in this fight tonight. That's all," Loran said. It wasn't exactly a lie, so he didn't feel guilty with saying those words. Alice gave Loran a skeptical look, but finally said, "Alright, if you say so. But you still refuse to take my blood, even though it would help you?"

Loran nodded and said sternly, "I'm not going to take your blood, so you can get that crazy idea out of your mind, right now." He then reached down and took her wrist into his hand and gave it a slight tug. "Now," he told her, "We need to hurry up and get out of here. We've wasted enough time as it is."

* * *

Sorry for not uploading yesterday. I had a bit of a busy and early day. But I should be able to upload until Thursday. The reason for the uncertainty on Thursdays because my band camp starts. I might upload later on those days that I'm at camp, but if I don't, I'm sorry in advance. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, so read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	52. Dark Reasons

_~O~_

Shun broke free from all the fighting and leaned against the wall of a nearby building, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. His fatigue had begun pestering him throughout the battle, causing him to slip up and make mistakes that could have caused the end of him. So, before it got to be too much to handle, Shun had decided on breaking away to rest for a moment.

It wasn't a choice he wanted to do, but it was the best thing for him; if he stayed out there and kept pushing himself to the limits, he wouldn't be able to keep up. And if he couldn't keep up, then all it would take was one Vampire to blindside him and make everything go dark. And if Shun wanted to stand any kind of chance against Alexander, then he at least needed to be able to hold his own in battle.

He glanced at the bloodbath that was still taking place. Bodies of fallen Vampires from both sides had begun to cover the ground that the living were still fighting on. The asphalt street, which was already cracked from years of neglect, was glistening in the light of the full-moon with blood.

Shun had taken down a good number of Alexander's underlings after Loran got Alice out of harm's way, but the raven-haired teen had been running on pure adrenaline then. As the fight progressed, that adrenaline started to wane, and when it did, the deep gashes in his back made themselves more profound.

Even then, as he was leaning his shoulder against the brick wall to rest, the claw marks that ran down his back stung and made him flinch every time he turned a certain way; they were starting to become a handicap for Shun. He had been able to push through the aching pain for a while, but the more he fought, and the more he moved, the more those wounds hurt.

Now, they seemed to be the only thing his mind wanted to focus on. There was still the fear of the wounds carrying the infection known as Blight, though. Even though Shun hadn't begun to display any signs of losing his mind to the infection, that didn't mean he wasn't infected.

The disease might have just been taking a while to set in, or Shun's body was trying to fight it off. Regardless, Shun had made sure that when he jumped back into the fight, he kept himself from being scratched again, just in case the Vampire that wounded his back hadn't been Blighted; the last thing he needed was to be clear from the infection from the initial wound, only to be scratched again and contract the disease that time.

Shun straightened up a bit, which caused the four claw marks on his back to hurt further. But he fought through the pain and turned back to face the fighting. Although it was a bit difficult to tell, it appeared that Sinclair's Clan had the upper hand. Not many of the Yoru Clan had fallen compared to the mass of bodies from Alexander's side that littered the ground.

Shun took this as a good sign, but didn't take it to heart; the tides could change at any time and sweep them beneath the waves. The raven-haired teen was about to return to the fight at hand, but a loud explosion stopped him. It apparently did not catch the attention of any of those fighting; if it did, then they were ignoring it and remaining focused on defending their own lives.

Shun looked over in the direction that the explosion had come from. He saw something that looked like dust or smoke billowing up in the distance; he couldn't really tell much else about it against the night sky. But Shun did have a feeling about one thing, though.

Something was telling him that that explosion was caused by Sinclair, and if the Vampire Lord was there, then so would be Alexander as well. The adrenaline that Shun had been running off of earlier, suddenly came rushing back with the thought of going up against Alexander.

And with the return of this adrenaline, the pain in Shun's back seemed to fade into a distant memory for the time-being. He glanced over at his fellow Clan mates that were fighting; they seemed to be holding their own. _They shouldn't suffer if I leave, _Shun reasoned with himself and darted off in the direction of the explosion.

_~O~_

Alucard fired another round from behind a shattered window of a building. It found its target, dropping the enemy Vampire to the ground in a heap. The second-in-command then ducked back behind the wall and loaded another round into the pistol.

He was acting as a sniper, just minus the high-ground and seemingly-unlimited ammunition. Alucard was making sure to target the underlings of Alexander that seemed to be giving the Yoru Clan the most problems and ensuring that the fight would fall into their favor.

But there was a bit of a problem; Alucard was almost out of bullets. He had perhaps just over twenty, and he could figure that a fourth of those would be misses, while another fourth might hit their target, but not be a kill-shot. So, the way he looked at it, Alucard only had half of what little ammunition that sat in front of him now.

He growled in aggravation and peered out through the shattered window again. His violet eyes scanned the battlefield, hunting for an enemy Vampire that might have been giving Sinclair's Clan mates difficulties. Alucard didn't spot one immediately, but he did identify Alexander's second-in-command, Sykes.

It would be a small accomplishment to take out the Vampire that was close to Alexander. So, Alucard drew back the hammer of the flintlock pistol and set the sights on Sykes. He narrowed his eyes, making sure that everything was dead-center before he made the shot, when a loud explosion rang out into the night air.

It startled Alucard, making him duck back behind the wall and search his hideout for anybody that might have snuck in while his back was turned. But he was all alone. Confusion then flooded into the second-in-command, and he glanced back out through his window to see a large smoke cloud billowing up into the sky.

Alucard felt his eyes grow wide; the smoke cloud was rising from the direction that Sinclair had run off to fight Alexander. Panic began to rise within Alucard with the thought that the Vampire Lord might have been injured or fallen, and before he knew it, the second-in-command ran from his hideout and towards the smoke cloud.

_~O~_

The force of the explosion knocked the two Vampires back, flinging them against the brick walls of the alleyway. Sinclair coughed and fanned away some of the dust debris from his eyes. The explosion had been his fault. The Vampire Lord had sent another telekinetic attack at Alexander, but the blond-haired Vampire had moved, causing the attack to hit an old gas-pipe to one an abandoned building.

The gas-line, which should have been shut off whenever the building was condemned and abandoned, apparently had not been. Once the force of the attack hit the pipe and busted the metal, the gas inside burst free, causing the explosion, and more than likely bringing unwanted attention to their personal battle. Enough of the dust had cleared away for Sinclair to see through now.

And through it, he was able to make out Alexander's silhouetted form; it appeared at though the enemy Vampire was still trying to recover from the impact of the blast. Sinclair decided to take advantage of this opportunity. He dove through the remaining dust that lingered in the air and readied himself to attack Alexander.

But when he reached out to dig his claws into the disoriented Vampire, Sinclair found that he was no longer there. The Vampire Lord began to search frantically for his target, but the dust still wasn't making it entirely easy to see all of his surroundings. "Where the hell did you go?" Sinclair shouted.

He was growing tired of this game. The Vampire Lord was ready to put an end to it. The rest of the debris dust cleared, leaving on a thin fog behind to make the world look dirty. When it did, Sinclair glanced up and found Alexander sitting in a windowsill above, his legs crossed and a smirk on his face.

"What's the matter, Sinclair? Getting aggravated?" the blond-haired Vampire taunted. Sinclair narrowed his eyes and growled. Alexander only chuckled and dropped back down to the ground with a cat-like grace, despite all of the scratches and minor wounds that littered his body. Sinclair wasn't much different. The Vampire Lord had his own share of gashes and cuts from falling on the ground and being flung back against the brick walls that surrounded them.

But neither of the Vampires had landed a decisive hit yet. Alexander took a couple steps closer to Sinclair and folded his arms over his chest. "You're still holding back your real power, aren't you, Sinclair?" the blond-haired Vampire inquired, "Why is that? Afraid of flattening this whole city block without breaking a sweat? Please, do tell me." Sinclair clenched his jaw and let out a low, menacing growl.

"It's none of your damn concern. Besides, I don't need to use my full powers to take you down," the Vampire Lord said coldly. It was true that Sinclair could have already ended this fight if he unleashed the full strength of his telekinetic powers, but he wasn't going to; he had vowed never to use them again a long, long time ago.

The memories, even though they were from hundreds of years ago, were still fresh and raw in his mind. He could still see the faces of the townspeople as they and their little settlement were wiped clean from the face of the Earth. It had all been in the best intentions, though.

Sinclair had been trying to protect them from an attack by a Vampire Clan that had been going all along the countryside, killing entire settlements and villages. But the Vampire Lord wasn't about to let them get this town in particular, only because it was the only one that was not afraid of Vampires. The townspeople there idolized Vampires and wanted to bridge the gap between the two species.

Sinclair thought that they were a truly unique people, and for years that Vampire Lord had been wanting to bridge that gap as well. He had wanted to see the end of Vampire Hunters and Vampires killing one another in massive bloodshed. So, he vowed to protect that village in order to keep their ideals alive. But the Vampire Clan that had been crossing the countryside was a huge one, more than Sinclair could have handled on his own.

He had been cocky and arrogant at the time. The Vampire Lord had figured at the time that since he had control over his full powers that he could just wiped the incoming Clan off the face of the Earth. Well, he did, but he had also taken the town in which he was trying to protect along with that Clan. Sinclair could perfectly recall standing in the middle of where the town had been, and stared in horror at the ground that had been flattened and stripped bare of trees and everything else.

He still remembered the years of self-loathing he experienced after that, and it was during that time that he vowed to himself that he would never use those powers again. Sinclair shook himself back into focus, pushing the dark memories away and returning his attention to the task at hand. But by the time he was fully back in reality, Alexander lunged at him, pinning the Vampire Lord to the ground. Upon impact, Sinclair had the air knocked from his lungs, and he tried to catch his breath.

Alexander saw this and dug his knee into the Vampire Lord's chest, putting all his weight behind his knee and into Sinclair's ribs. With this added weight, Sinclair struggled even more to catch his breath. "You think too much, Sinclair," Alexander sneered and pressed his knee further into the Vampire Lord's ribs. Sinclair could feel several of his ribs cracking from the pressure.

The edges of his vision were starting to grow dark, and little flashes of light danced in the Vampire Lord's line of vision. _No, I can't blackout….I've…..I've got to stay….._Sinclair felt his mind growing heavy, and his eyes started to droop down as unconsciousness latched onto him. But just as the Vampire Lord was about to slip into the blackness of his mind, a gunshot rang out and he heard Alexander cry out.

When this happened, the weight that was being placed on his chest lightened a bit, allowing enough oxygen to return to Sinclair and bring him back to a state of awareness. Sinclair was then hit with the smell of blood. He looked over and found Alexander clutching his shoulder.

Blood was seeping through the blond-haired Vampire's fingers from the wound under his hand. Somebody then knelt down beside the Vampire Lord. Sinclair turned and saw that it was none other than Alucard. The second-in-command's eyes were wide and brimming with concern. "Sir, are you alright?" Alucard asked frantically. Sinclair nodded and said, "I'm fine. Now, help me up." Alucard nodded and helped Sinclair up to his feet.

The Vampire Lord wobbled for a moment, for he was still lightheaded from loss of oxygen. But he recovered quickly, and already he could feel his damaged ribs healing themselves. "Perfect timing, as always, Alucard," Sinclair said to his second-in-command. Alucard gave him a single nod and pointed the flintlock pistol at Alexander.

"Just give me the word and I'll shoot him." Sinclair was about to tell Alucard to back down, that this fight was strictly between the Vampire Lord and Alexander, when the blond-haired Vampire was suddenly flung backwards and pinned against the brick wall by an invisible force. Alucard looked at Sinclair, thinking that he had been the one to do this. But the Vampire Lord shook his head, telling his second-in-command that he hadn't used his telekinetic powers just then.

Alexander was still pinned to the wall, and Sinclair could see that more of the invisible force was being pressed down onto the blond-haired Vampire's body.

Blood then started to trickle down the corner of Alexander's mouth as he was crushed further by the force. "I suggest you get out of the way, or one of you might get caught in the crossfire," a voice said from behind. Sinclair turned around and found Shun standing behind them.

* * *

It's bout to get real up in here. I'll get out for that now. Anyway, I'm not sure if I will be able to upload tomorrow because I'm getting my senior portraits done and blah blah blah. Like I also said, if I do upload Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then they will be late uploads. Like, really late, because I have band camp. Ugh. -.- It's my last band camp though until college, so I can't really complain. Gotta make it last, right? Well, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And also, **check out my profile for a new poll!** Read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


	53. Treachery And Betrayal

_~O~_

Sinclair stared in surprise at the raven-haired teen. "Shun? What are you doing here?" the Vampire Lord asked and then turned to Alucard, "What is he doing here?" Alucard's face showed a bit of uneasiness upon being asked this. "My apologies, Sir, but he snuck out from the enclave and followed us," Alucard explained and seemed to be bracing himself for Sinclair's wrath to be directed towards him.

But the Vampire Lord kept his composure, despite being rather upset with this development. He took a step towards Shun, who was still keeping Alexander pinned against the wall with his telekinetic powers, and said calmly, "I thank you for your enthusiasm to want to help us defeat him, but Alucard and I should have it all under control from here. You're in no shape to be out here anyway, so it would be for the best if you return to the enclave now and resume your treatments."

Shun narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so," he spat defiantly. Sinclair drew back in surprise; he had never really had many of his underlings defy his orders, so it always caught him off guard whenever it did happen. But the Vampire Lord knew that the raven-haired teen must have had some kind of reason for this act of defiance, so he asked, "And why not?"

Shun's glare shifted over to Alexander, and Sinclair could see the hatred in the raven-haired teen's eyes burn stronger.

"I want to be the one who puts an end to this piece of trash's life. It's partially because of him that I killed my grandfather. He caught me while I was going into Bloodlust and suffering from withdrawal and tossed me a vial of his drug, knowing I would take it! And because of that drug, I was unable to control whatever I did, and that includes killing my grandfather! On top of all that, he's also the one who first introduced that drug into my system! If I didn't know how its effects felt, then I probably would have never been tempted to start using! So, I believe I owe a bit of revenge, don't you think?" Shun hissed.

Sinclair could see the hurt in the teen's eyes. In a way, the Vampire Lord could understand Shun's desire for revenge. Not only was it partially justified, seeing as Alexander had caused him more pain than most in the Clan, but also because Shun needed some kind of outlet to deal with the pain that came with the reality of his grandfather's blood on his hands.

Sinclair took a step closer to Shun and asked him, "I know you think killing him will help ease the pain in your heart, but think about this for a moment; do you really want somebody else's blood staining your hands and name?" Shun tensed and appeared to think about this for a moment.

He finally shook his head and told Sinclair, "I won't feel anything if I kill this scumbag. It's different with him." Off to the side, Alexander, still pressed firmly against the brick wall by an invisible force, wheezed and coughed as he tried to take in more air.

The blond-haired Vampire then chuckled weakly and said in a hoarse voice, "I feel of such importance right now." Shun's eyes flashed in anger and he turned to face Alexander. "Shut it!" the raven-haired teen snapped.

Alexander only chuckled and said, "I thought I told you to remember who helped you in your time of need. I gave you that last vial of blood mixture that you body craved so badly. I ended your suffering, even if it was for a little while. Tell me, what has Sinclair or any of the rest of his Clan done for you that's helped you without causing you pain?"

Sinclair turned and looked over at Shun to see if the raven-haired teen might have been falling prey to Alexander's little mind game. But by the looks of it, Shun didn't seem to be falling for it. "You don't know half of what they've done for me, and it's all been in my benefit, which is more than can be said for you," Shun said coldly. The raven-haired teen then turned and faced Sinclair.

"Please," he said, "Just let me put an end to him. That's all I ask. I know he's caused your Clan and Blood Ring a great deal of trouble, but give me this one piece of solace. That's all I want." Sinclair looked back over at Alexander. A line of blood had dried on the corner of the blond-haired Vampire's mouth from where Shun had placed enough telekinetic force on Alexander's body to cause him to cough up the crimson liquid.

The Vampire Lord thought about Shun's request for a moment. He knew that the raven-haired teen had complete and total control over Alexander right now, meaning that it would be simple and quick to allow him to put an end to the nuisance's life. Sinclair didn't care who put an end to Alexander, just as long as one happened.

But another scenario crossed through the Vampire Lord's mind, one that he favored more than allowing the raven-haired teen to commit murder. "No, don't kill him. I don't want him dead," Sinclair stated confidently. Both Shun and Alucard turned and looked at the Vampire Lord in surprise and confusion.

"What?" Shun snapped, "You don't want him dead? Then what was the point of having this entire fight with his Clan if it wasn't to kill him?" Alucard nodded and spoke up as well. "I have to agree with Shun. If you don't kill Alexander, then he'll probably just go and do this all over again," the second-in-command stated. Sinclair's lips twisted up into a grin, and he turned to look at Shun.

"You want Alexander to suffer, right? You want him to pay for what he did." Shun nodded but didn't say anything in response; it was clear that nobody else knew where Sinclair was taking this. "But does it really matter if he dies at your hands or not?" the Vampire Lord asked.

Shun glared over at Alexander and said, "I suppose not, as long as he gets what he deserves. I'm sure I could go on without being the one who put an end to him, although I would prefer if I had." Sinclair smiled and nodded.

Alucard, apparently unable to take the confusion any longer, asked, "What are you getting at, Sir? If we're not about to kill Alexander and put an end to this madness, then what do you suggest we do? Letting him go isn't an option, and it's not like it would be the best of ideas to keep him locked away in the enclave. He might escape. So, what are you scheming?"

Sinclair crossed his arms over his chest and said with a confident smile, "Despite my rather unpleasant relationship with the Society, I still have some pull on some strings there. And Alexander, being the main reason for a suddenly explosion of Blight, on top of the deaths of hundreds of humans, wouldn't stand good in a trial.

He'd most surely receive one of the harshest death sentences that the Society has. He would suffer more at the hands of the Society than he would by us three." Sinclair glanced over at Alexander and saw the uneasiness and fear in the Vampire's eyes.

This brought a bit of satisfaction to the Vampire Lord. Alucard leaned against the brick wall behind him and said, "So, you're pretty much saying we'll throw him to the Society? But what about us? Surely the Society already knows about our Blood Ring because of this whole mess. And running an underground organization like ours is against their laws, despite the fact that we don't exactly cause harm to make our product. They'll most definitely arrest us too and put us on trial."

Sinclair couldn't help but chuckle. Alucard, even though he hardly ever left Sinclair's side, sometimes didn't know a lot about the Vampire Lord.

"That's where you're wrong, Alucard," Sinclair stated, "With the pull I have within the Society that I mentioned, I can make our handing over of Alexander anonymous. They would never know it was us. But odds are the Society will still be looking for us after this, which is nothing new, seeing as they've been doing that for years to try and peg charges on us. All we'll do is go back underground and carry out our business with a bit more discretion until it dies down. Simple as that."

Off to the side, Alexander began laughing, which was gravely from the pressure that Shun was still keeping held down on the Vampire. Sinclair turned and narrowed his eyes. "And what, might I ask, is so amusing about us speaking of your future death?" Alexander continued to chuckle, but stopped for a moment as a bout of coughing took him over.

Once that passed, he looked at Sinclair and smiled. "You're planning on throwing me to the Society, huh? And you're going to use some connection you have in their to get away unscathed? I don't think so. You see, Sinclair, I know where your secret enclave is. All I have to do is bargain for a more merciful punishment by giving them the location of your hideout, and you'll be finished," Alexander sneered.

Sinclair kept a flat expression as he walked right up to Alexander. "You think you're slick, don't you? But I hate to burst your little bubble, but I am more than capable of wiping that little bit of information right from your mind. In fact, I can put a whole false story into your brain and have you tell it to the Society, and I assure you, it would be a story that would only make your punishment worse."

Sinclair saw the blatant fear flood into Alexander's eyes when he said this, which gave the Vampire Lord a sense of satisfaction.

"Now, I think it's time you took a little nap," Sinclair said and smiled. The Vampire Lord focused his powers and tapped into Alexander's mind, shutting down parts of it to induce a coma-like trance on the blond-haired Vampire until otherwise; he also made sure to erase the location of the enclave from Alexander's memories while he was at it.

Alexander's eyes grew hazy and stared off blankly at nothing as he was knocked unconscious. Sinclair glanced over his shoulder and said, "Shun, you can let him down now." The raven-haired teen nodded and released the telekinetic force that had been holding Alexander against the wall.

The Vampire's body then dropped to the ground in an unconscious heap. "He'll be fine if we leave him here for a little while. He's not going to be waking up anytime soon," Sinclair said and nudged Alexander with his foot, "As for us, though, we need to be getting back to the rest of the Clan and put an end to the fighting by informing everyone that Alexander has been defeated."

The three then started to leave the alley and return to quell the fighting that was still taking place. As they walked, Sinclair noticed the dark expression on Shun's face. The Vampire Lord sighed and told him, "I know you had your heart set on being the one to kill Alexander, and I understand why. But handing him over to the Society to face all that he has done and receive punishment by death for it is the best thing that can be done."

Shun nodded and said in return, "I know, I know. Like I said back there, I would have preferred if it were me that put an end to him, but as long as he suffers for all that he's done, I'm fine with it." The raven-haired teen picked up his pace a bit, walking in front of Sinclair for a moment.

That was when the Vampire Lord noticed the four claw marks running down Shun's back. Sinclair stopped walking and stared in shock. "Your back," was all Sinclair was able to say at the time. Shun stopped walking, and without looking at the Vampire Lord, said, "Yeah, I know. I got scratched earlier before I came over here." Sinclair continued to stare at the claw marks, which were starting to heal over. "How long ago was earlier?" he asked.

Depending on how much time had passed from when Shun received his injuries would help determine if he had contracted Blight. The raven-haired teen shook his head and told him, "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe almost right at an hour since I was scratched?"

An hour was much too long for Blight to settle in and take over its host. Even the most weakest cases of Blight didn't take more than twenty minutes sometimes. Sinclair let out a sigh of relief. "I think you're fine then. If it's been that long and you haven't been displaying any signs of Blight, then you should be fine."

Shun let out a sigh of relief of his own, and his shoulders dropped down a bit, as if he finally let go of whatever weight he had been holding up on them.

"Good. That's good," he said, his voice sounding tired and drained now. But Sinclair knew that the fatigue in Shun's voice was more along the lines of relief flooding out than actual weakness; the Vampire Lord didn't blame him.

He knew just how frightening a possible Blight infection could be for any Vampire, especially when each minute that passed by might end up being one's last moment of sanity.

Sinclair patted Shun on his shoulder and told him, "I'll get Loran to take a look at those wounds later on and make sure they're healing up appropriately." Shun nodded and thanked Sinclair for the offer. They then continued on their way back to where the rest of the Clan was fighting to bring an end to it for good.

_~O~_

A hooded figure emerged from the shadows that were cast by a crevice in the alleyway. He had watched the altercation between Sinclair, Alucard, Shun, and Alexander from beginning to end. And for whatever reason, the hooded figure had had a feeling that Sinclair wouldn't kill Alexander; it just wasn't in the Vampire Lord's nature to kill somebody out of cold blood.

The figure had wanted to see, though, to observe and make sure his gut-feeling had been correct. And it had been. All of the years of standing by in the shadows, watching in silence, had finally paid off and proven just how well he had come to know those of the Yoru Clan. The hooded figure walked down the alleyway towards the unconscious body of Alexander.

The long, ankle-length cloak the figure wore fluttered behind him as he walked, making whipping sounds almost like a flag did in strong wind gusts. He then stopped and knelt down in front of Alexander. Sinclair was planning on throwing the blond-haired Vampire to the Society and had left him there for the time-being, thinking that nothing would happen to his prisoner as long as he was unconscious.

_But he hadn't taken anyone else into account. Careless, careless Sinclair, _the figure thought to himself and tilted Alexander's head back to where it now faced him. The hooded figure then reached back and removed the hood from the cloak that he wore, revealing his face.

He reached up and brushed his black hair from the eye-patch he wore on his right eye. He then reached out and placed his right hand on Alexander's forehead, focusing the powers that he had been honing in secrecy for years to break through Sinclair's hold on the Vampire's mind.

When he shattered the hold, Alexander's eyes fluttered open. He began to look around, still dazed and in a state of confusion as he woke from the coma-like sleep his mind had been put in. Recognition then flooded into Alexander's eyes. "Hey! You're one of Sinclair's underlings, aren't you! You're probably about to take me to the Society! Well, you're out of luck, buddy! I'm not going with you!" Alexander yelled and tried to make a run for it.

But the figure extended his hand out, sending out ropes of darkness that wrapped around Alexander's body, restraining him. The blond-haired Vampire fell to the ground and struggled against his bindings of darkness. "Let me go! You're not taking me to the Society! I refuse!"

The figure only smirked and said, "I'm not taking you to the Society, so you can calm down." Alexander stopped his struggling and stared in confusion. "Then, what do you want?" he asked skeptically, "Drugs? Is that it? Are you trying to rob me out of my product? If you are, then I hate to tell you this, but I was just put out of business a second ago. Sorry, buddy."

The figure chuckled and knelt down beside Alexander. "No, I don't want drugs. I want to make a proposition. You see, I left Sinclair's Clan to pursue….Plans of my own. And I need extra man-power for the job I have in mind. And I stood by in the shadows and watched you fight Sinclair. You are the only Vampire that I've seen all these years that was able to stand his own and fight back against him, which tells me that you are fairly powerful. I could really use some of that power to help achieve my goal."

Alexander just continued to stare up at the figure. "So, what your saying is that you want me to help you with whatever this cockamamie plan of yours is?" the Vampire asked. The figure shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's either that, or I leave you here and let Sinclair take you to the Society so you can face death. Your choice."

Alexander seemed to weigh his options for a moment. And when finally made his choice, he told the figure, "Alright, I'll help you. Now, would you mind letting me go?" The figure smiled and said, "Not at all." He then released Alexander from the hold of the tendrils of darkness.

The blond-haired Vampire stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "Thanks for this opportunity, uh. Might you mind telling me what your name is so I can at least address you properly?" Alexander asked with a tinge of irritation in his voice. The figure nodded and said, "Zoran."

Alexander nodded in response. "Well," he started, "Thank you for this, Zoran." Zoran waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "No need for thanks. Now, it might be best to get out of here before somebody comes looking for you."

Zoran was about to put the hood of his cloak back over his head when he caught the ever slightest movement from around the corner of a building. He reacted quickly, sending a rope of darkness out in that direction. There was then a high-pitched squeal as whoever was eavesdropping on them was caught.

_~O~_

Jessie had run off and hid the moment the fighting between the two Clans had started, just like a coward. She didn't care, though. It wasn't like she had signed up to ever fight in a war when she joined Sinclair's little organization, so she really had no obligations to fight.

If anyone questioned her, she was just going to say that she had been chased by some of the enemy Vampires and got lost. In the meantime, Jessie was walking down the abandoned streets, looking at shattered windows of buildings that were crumbling in on themselves.

She couldn't help but think just how ideal this location was for the fight between the Clans; there was nobody else around to witness the bloodshed, and most of the sounds made by the fighting would be drowned out by the buildings. It was really an ideal location.

Jessie walked a little further, enjoying the cool night air; if it weren't for the war taking place at the time, it would have been a peaceful night. She then stopped when she heard the low mummer of voices. Curious to know who else was this far away from the heat of battle, she cautiously made her way over to the source of the talking. Jessie leaned against the wall of an old store and peered around the corner and down the alley.

Her eyes widened when she saw Zoran standing there talking to Alexander. She had heard word of Loran's brother running off unannounced when it had happened. She, just like everyone else, had no idea where Zoran went. Now, here he was, talking to their Clan's enemy.

From where Jessie was standing she was able to catch bits and pieces of their conversation. Zoran was talking something about a plan and how he needed some extra power to help with those plans. "What in the world are they talking about?" she whispered quietly to herself.

Jessie took a step closer from the corner in an attempt to hear more of what was being said. But when she did, Zoran suddenly turned around and looked in her direction. She quickly drew back around the corner and pressed her back against the brick wall, hoping that he hadn't seen her. Suddenly, something lashed out from around the corner, wrapping Jessie up and yanking her into the alleyway.

She cried out in surprise as she landed on the ground in front of Zoran's feet. Cautiously, she looked up and was met with the icy gaze of Zoran's uncovered eye. Alexander stared down at her as well and licked his lips. "Looks like we have an unexpected guest. What do you suggest we do with her?" he asked as he eyed her like some kind of rare delicacy.

Jessie felt her blood run cold. Was Alexander really hinting at drinking her blood? If he was, then he would be committing one of the most taboo acts for a Vampire, not to mention illegal. But then again, he had already killed hundreds of people for their blood, so it shouldn't have surprised Jessie so much. Zoran narrowed his good eye down at her and asked, "So, how much of that did you hear?"

Jessie swallowed the lump that was starting to form in her throat. If Zoran thought that she might go and run back to Sinclair and tell him about this betrayal, then she would surely end up dead. A thought the crossed her mind, one that could keep her alive and get out of the Clan at the same time. "I heard you mention something about needing help with a plan of yours. Well, I'd be more than happy to offer some assistance," Jessie said with a smile.

Zoran appeared surprised by her statement. "Oh, really? And why is that?" he asked, obviously not entirely buying into what she was saying. Jessie held her smile strong, despite the fact that the rope of darkness that was still wrapped around her arms and chest was getting tighter, making it hard to breath.

"Everyone knows I hate being a part of that Clan. I only joined it in the first place to get away from my family and to make some money as well," she said bitterly. It was true. She had only accepted Sinclair's offer to let her join so she could get away from the strict rules of her family. So, it wasn't just a lie she made up in an attempt to save her own skin.

"Please," she begged, "I'm sick of Sinclair and all of his rules. Let me help you. I swear I can be useful!" Zoran stared at her for a while before finally giving his answer. He released the rope of darkness from around her and said, "Fine, but the first sign of betrayal that I sense, you're finished. Same goes for you, Alexander."

Alexander nodded, showing the he fully understood. Zoran brushed past them both and started down the exit of the alley. "Now, let's get a move on. I have something that needs to be taken care of before I make my move." Jessie and Alexander glanced at each other; she took note that the hungry look was still in the Vampire's eyes, which sent an uneasy chill down her spine.

But past that she could see a sense of uncertainty in his eyes, the same sense of uncertainty that she was feeling as well. And with that, she knew that they were bother wondering what exactly they had both agreed to in accepting Zoran's offer.

* * *

Yup, well, if that doesn't give you a hint in what the sequel will be about, then you might wanna get some help. Naturally, Alexander is not dead; he's going to play another major role in the sequel. And I decided that Jessie should get some play a part as well, seeing as I only made one mention of her prior to this. I didn't intend for this chapter to be this long, but it just turned out that way, seeing as this felt like the best time to put in Zoran's betrayal. In the sequel, you all will find out more about what his 'plan' is and how he will achieve it. But this story isn't finished quite yet. There's still some more that needs to be said and done. Anywho, go and **check out my profile for a poll concerning a possible revamping of some of my older stories**. And read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


	54. Shattered Glass

_~O~_

Loran held on tightly to Alice's wrist as he pulled her along behind him. They weaved through alleyways and between buildings to try and put more distance between them and any Vampires that might have been pursuing them. Alice kept glancing over her shoulder, making sure that they weren't being chased. She didn't see anything following them, so she naturally assumed that they were still in the clear.

But this did little to calm her heart that was pounding from adrenaline. Alice turned back around to face forward. She stared at Loran for a moment, taking in his fatigued expression. Before they had left the sanctity of the warehouse, Loran had explained why he had collapsed after getting rid of the Vampires that had broken in. He had told her how using his powers wore him out and left him weak afterwards because he had never practiced using them.

And right now, it was clear to Alice that the gray-haired Vampire was still feeling the effects of using those powers of his. She found that, as he ran, his footing would stumble every now and again, but he would always recover before he fell. Alice realized that if they were ambushed by Vampires again, Loran might not have the strength to fight them off, let alone use his powers a second time.

They would be easy targets. This only made Alice wish that Loran had taken some of her blood. Back in the warehouse, when he had made mention that drinking some blood might have helped him recover some of his energy, Alice had gladly offered hers up. But Loran had refused. He had said that if he did, then Shun might not take too kindly to it.

And there was the matter of Sinclair's rule about taking blood from humans. _But that hadn't stopped Shun in his time of need, _she thought stubbornly. And of course, Alice had made the argument about how Shun would want Loran to take her blood if it meant keeping her safe. And yet, the gray-haired Vampire stood firm and continued to decline her offer.

She couldn't help but marvel at Loran's resolve to refuse her blood and stay true to the rules that Sinclair had placed for them, but she also found it rather infuriating. If the blood would help him recover quicker, which would, in turn, allow him to keep her safe like Shun had told him to do, then why continue to decline it? It didn't make much sense to Alice, but it was too late for any of that now.

They were on the run again and had to keep moving until Loran felt that they would be safe until sunrise, or at least until the fighting ceased. Whichever came first. Alice wished they would hurry up and stop, though. Her legs were burning from all the running, and her lungs felt like they might explode each time she took in any amount of air.

She was just about to ask Loran if they could stop for a second to let her catch her breath, when something dropped down from above, landing between them and causing the gray-haired Vampire's hold on her wrist to slip. Alice was able to stop just in time to watch as Loran was thrown into the side of a building by the Vampire that had ambushed them from above.

Loran cried out as he was pressed firmly against the wall by his neck, which their current assailant had a death-grip on. "You're the little brat that turned my buddies into the ash that I found back in that warehouse, aren't you? You wouldn't be running if you weren't," the Vampire hissed and tightened his grip on Loran's neck. Alice could hear cartilage and Loran's windpipe popping from the force that was being placed on it.

"Hey, let him go!" Alice shouted, even though she knew that the Vampire wouldn't listen to her. She saw Loran weakly shake his head. "No," he told her in a gravely voice, "Run. You…..You need to run!" The monster that was slowly choking the life out of Loran turned around and snapped at her, "No, you stay right there! You'll be a little snack for me once I'm done with him. And if you don't run, then I might make it a quick and painless. There's no guarantee that I will do the same if you try and make a break for it, though."

Alice stood there in shock as she watched as the rest of the fight started to drain away from Loran. She had to do something. She couldn't just leave him for dead; not after all he had done to protect her. Alice tightened her hands into fists at her sides and ran up to the Vampire and latched onto his arm, the one in which he was using to strangle Loran. "I said let him go!" she shouted at him.

The Vampire's eyes blazed with anger as he released his hold on Loran and swung his arm out at Alice. She then felt the piercing pain as the Vampire's claws ripped into her stomach. She cried out and fell back, clutching her injured abdomen with trembling hands.

Warm blood started to seep through her fingers, making them slick. "Alice!" she heard Loran scream. She turned and looked through blurred eyes just as the gray-haired Vampire plunged his clawed-hand into the chest of their assailant, sending ribbons of blood flying into the air as the enemy Vampire fell back onto the ground; he didn't move anymore after that.

Loran stood there for a moment before finally running over to Alice's side. "Alice! Alice, hang on!" he begged her and tore some fabric from his shirt. He moved her hands from her wound and pressed the torn cloth onto the injury to soak up some of the blood and to try and halt the bleeding. The edges of her vision were starting to go black, and little flashes of light danced around her.

"Just hang on, Alice. Hang on until we can get you somewhere to get you help," he told her in a trembling voice. She could tell he was trying to stay calm for her sake, but the desperation that hid behind his words let her know that he was anything but calm.

He knew that there was a good chance that she wouldn't make it, there was no doubt about it. Alice felt her eyes growing heavy, and soon, she was unable to keep them open. She allowed them to close and plunged her world into darkness.

_~O~_

Shun stood beside Alucard as they watched Sinclair approach the area that had become a battlefield in one night. The air was even thicker with blood, and made the raven-haired teen's stomach do a slight flip at the smell. More bodies of Vampires littered the ground than when Shun had left the heat of the fight to go and fight Alexander.

Sinclair stood there for a moment, as if waiting for somebody to notice his presence there, or for the fighting to pause on its own. When this didn't happen, the Vampire Lord raised his right hand towards a neighboring building. The remaining windows in the building suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass raining down like crystals onto the ground.

This earned the attention of enough of the fighting Vampires to cause the battle to cease. Now, all eyes were locked onto the Vampire Lord. Shun felt the air grow tense and heavy. He glanced to his side at Alucard, only to find that the second-in-command was even more on edge than usual. "Calm down," Shun whispered to him. Alucard cut a look at the raven-haired teen and said, "I will be calm when all of this is over. Right now, I have to be ready to fight if somebody decides to attack Sinclair."

Shun didn't say anything after that; there was no point in arguing with Alucard when he was like this. Sinclair squared his shoulders back, taking on an appearance that was powerful, and almost regal. He cleared his throat and said, "Now that I have everyone's attention, I thought I would just announce that Alexander has been defeated."

The eyes of the Vampires on Alexander's side widened in shock and surprise upon hearing this news. Several of those Vampires wore expression of uneasiness now that their leader was no more. Sinclair held up two fingers and said, "Now, you all have two options here. You can either run with your lives while you still have them, or hang around here and suffer the same fate as your leader. Your choice."

Glances were exchanged between their group, and slowly, one-by-one, Alexander's underlings started to back away and dart down alleyways as they fled. Beside Shun, Alucard shook his head disapprovingly and said sarcastically, "Such loyal creatures, aren't they?"

Once the last of Alexander's underlings ran off, Shun could see just how many were left of their own Clan; it appeared they had a good many of their own left. Perhaps they lost a fourth of their original numbers in the fight, but it was too soon to tell. Sinclair smiled at his Clan and said, "Tonight, we were the victorious ones!"

Smiles lit up around the Clan members, and a chorus of cheers rose up as celebrations began right there in the middle of the street. The Clan members gathered around Sinclair, smiling brightly and patting one another on the back. They would most definitely celebrate once they all got back to the enclave.

A thought then crossed Shun's mind; he had to track down Loran and Alice and let them know that it was all over. He was about to mention it to Alucard, mainly in hopes that the second-in-command would help him look, when he smelled it. It was a scent that he could identify anywhere, at anytime, even over the sickening scent of all of the blood was spilled on the ground; the smell of Alice's blood.

Shun's eyes grew wide, and a chill went through his body. _Alice's blood….I can smell it…..That…That means she's hurt. _That was all it took. Shun darted off in the direction of which the smell of Alice's blood was coming from, using his enhanced sense of smell to keep track of it. His heart was pounding and his mind was racing. He didn't know what to expect when he found Alice.

She might have just had a minor scratch, or it could have been something major. Shun didn't want to think much about it until he found her, but that was easier said than done. He could already feel tears starting to sting at his eyes. The thought of losing Alice, the only person that knew about him, that he could confide in when need be, the only person that cared for him as he was now, seemed to further shatter his already damaged soul.

Shun ran around corners and down alleyways, dodging old debris that were left behind from a forgotten time as he followed the smell of Alice's blood. He found that it was getting stronger, more profound; he was getting closer. This realization made his stomach twist up in a knot, and his chest ache with worry.

He had already lost his old life and his grandfather. If he lost Alice too, then he felt that he might lose his grip on the last thread to his sanity that he had. The scent of her blood was almost overpowering now. It was strange that it used to be that the thought of her blood would drive Shun crazy and wish he could taste it.

Now, the smell and thought of it made him sick with worry. Tasting the crimson liquid was the last thing on his mind. In fact, he didn't really want to see it due to fear of just how much he might find. Shun rounded one last corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He had found her.

She was laying on the ground with Loran kneeling down beside her, up to his elbows in her blood as he tried to help stop the bleeding. "Shun," Loran said in a mixed tone of surprise and hurt. Shun's legs felt weak beneath him as he slowly walked up to Alice and knelt down beside her and across from Loran. He stared down at her pale face and felt something break inside of him.

* * *

Gah, I slept in late this morning, so that's why this chapter is a bit behind. Sorry, folks. Also, if I do upload tomorrow, it will be very, very late. Same goes for Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because those are my band camp days. And please to **check out my profile for a poll**. Hope you enjoyed, and maybe even teared up at this chapter. So, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	55. A New Problem Arises

_~O~_

Shun couldn't do anything but stare. He had no words that came to his mind that he could say; he just stared. He looked on in disbelief at Alice, at the blood that covered her clothes and the ground around her body. It didn't feel real. Shun then felt a hand lightly shake his shoulder, but he didn't take his gaze away from Alice. "Shun. Shun, look at me," a voice said, but none of the words registered.

The raven-haired teen was too far into shock at the time to register anything but Alice. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to think of anything else; what lay before him was already proving to be too much for him to handle. "Shun," the voice pleaded again, "Look at me and listen!"

But even though the raven-haired teen heard the words, they all felt jumbled together into some language that he couldn't comprehend. Did he want to comprehend what was being said? What if it was about Alice? About something else he didn't want to hear? Shun then found himself being turned around by force, and his gaze was torn from Alice. He now was face-to-face with Loran.

The gray-haired Vampire's eyes were wide with worry, and tinged with a bit of aggravation as well. Shun started to turn back to Alice, afraid to that she would vanish forever if he took his eyes off her for too long, but Loran denied him that. "Look at me and listen, please!" Loran begged.

Now that he was no longer completely immersed in the bloody site that was Alice, Shun could feel his mind slowly coming out of its stupor. He began to register things again, like words and the fact that Loran really was in front of him, and not some kind of figment of his imagination. _Loran…Loran was supposed to keep her safe…He didn't keep her safe…._ Rage began to build up in Shun.

It had been Loran's job to keep Alice safe and out of harm's way, and he had failed. "You were supposed to keep her safe!" Shun snapped at the gray-haired Vampire. Loran flinched back at the raven-haired teen's sudden rage and tried to speak, but Shun didn't give him a chance to.

"What the hell happened? Why didn't you keep her safe like I asked!" he shouted. Shun could feel fresh tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, but he didn't care; he was running blindly on his emotions at the moment. He then felt the sting of a slap as Loran's hand came in contact with his face.

"Will you shut up and listen to me already!" Loran shouted back at him. Shun didn't meet the gray-haired Vampire's gaze. Instead, he kept his head turned to the side and stared down at the cracked asphalt beneath them. Shun had to admit that he was surprised that Loran had slapped him; it wasn't something that he thought the gray-haired Vampire was capable of doing. He heard Loran take in a shaky breath.

"I tried to keep her safe, but we were ambushed. She could have gotten out of here while I held our attacker off, but she didn't. Instead, she put her own self in harm's way and this is what happened. I had no way of preventing this, Shun, you have to believe me…..," Loran explained. Shun closed his eyes and could practically see Alice doing just what Loran had said she had done.

He could see her running up there and putting her own life on the line for another. That was just how Alice was. "She's still alive right now, but I don't know for how much longer she will be able to hang on…..I did my best to stop as much of the bleeding as possible, but she still lost a lot…..And I don't think she has time for us to try and get her to a hospital…..I'm sorry, Shun, but I did all that I could to try and help her," Loran said sadly.

Shun glanced back over at Alice. She was pale, paler than her fair skin-tone should have been. "There's…..There's nothing we can do to help her?" Shun asked. His voice was trembling and didn't sound like his own. To him, his voice sounded like that of a stranger's, somebody that he didn't know. And in this stranger's voice he asked, "We…..We can't Turn her into a Vampire or something to try and help her?"

Shun then realized the weight of the words that had been said. To Turn Alice into a Vampire would be to subject her to the same torture that Shun had been through. She would have to endure all of the pain of accepting that new life, of having to deal with drinking blood.

_Would Alice want that? _Shun silently asked himself. He hadn't had a choice when he was Turned. His feelings about the matter hadn't been taken into consideration; Sinclair and the rest of the Clan had just gone on ahead with it and Turned him into a creature that shouldn't even exist.

Beside him, Loran shook his head and told him, "No, Turning her wouldn't help. Not with her current condition, at least. The Transition would definitely kill her and eliminate any chance of survival that she has. Sorry." Shun didn't take his gaze from her as he shook his head and told Loran, "No, it's alright. That was a stupid suggestion anyway…..I don't think she'd want this kind of life."

Shun began wondering if it would be best to just go ahead and end her suffering. By what Loran was saying, Alice wasn't going to make it. So, why not just go ahead and end her last few moments of suffering quickly and as painlessly as possible? He could just go ahead and take what was left of her blood and let her slip peacefully away like that, rather than let her succumb to her wounds.

But Shun doubted that he had it in him to bring himself to do such a thing. "I just got an idea. There might be something else we could do, though," Loran suddenly said. This caught Shun's attention. He tore his gaze from Alice and looked to the gray-haired Vampire. "What? What is it?" he asked frantically.

There was a bit of relief in knowing that there might have been something they could do to help her, almost like a sliver of hope had returned. Loran stared at Shun in surprise for a moment before finally saying, "Well, I've only heard stories of this, so I don't know if it really works. But supposedly, hundreds of years ago when people still believed in Vampires, there were stories of how humans would consume Vampire blood to heal their wounds and ailments. It was something with the blood that gives humans our rapid healing abilities temporarily, just long enough for them to heal. It was controversial practice for humans back then, seeing as they feared that drinking Vampire blood would Turn them, when it won't. So, this wasn't done very often."

Shun glanced back over at Alice. "So, it won't Turn her?" he asked to make sure. Loran shook his head and said, "Only by blood-to-blood exchange can a human be Turned. Consuming Vampire blood won't do it." Shun nodded in understanding. If Alice drank his blood, it could save her.

She would be able to heal before the wound could take her life. Didn't he at least owe her this much? She had given up her own blood to him at some point when he had needed it. As far as Shun was concerned, this was just like giving back what he took. He doubted she would hate him for making her drink his blood, especially when it was in the name of saving her life.

"What….What about the remnants of the drug in my blood? Would it hurt her?" Shun asked when he suddenly remembered that his blood might as well been a drug itself. Loran shook his head and told him, "No, it shouldn't. Most of the drug in your blood has been diluted down. Besides, it wouldn't bother her anyway unless she injected your blood into her own veins. Consuming it doesn't give the effects of the drug."

Shun nodded and felt a slight bit of relief in knowing that he wouldn't be exposing her to something that could ruin her life like it had done his. He then leaned a bit closer towards Alice, taking in her paling features; she looked more fragile than usual. Shun took in a shaky breath as he brought his hands together. He then used his thumbnail to puncture the vein in his palm, drawing some of his own blood.

The crimson liquid came rushing out, glistening in the light of the full-moon overhead. He had to work quick before the wound closed up and took the one thing that would save Alice with it. Shun hovered his bleeding hand over her and positioned it right over her mouth, with was already slightly open.

Would she hate him for this, for making her drink his blood? It didn't matter to Shun if she did end up hating him, as long as she was okay. As he let his blood drip into her slightly parted lips, several drops missed and fell on her face and on the corner of her mouth.

The bright red of the blood stood out brightly against her pale face. Shun let his blood drip until the wound he made in his hand finally closed. He leaned back, and without taking his gaze away from her, asked Loran, "How long does it usually take?" The gray-haired Vampire shook his head and told him, "I don't know. None of the records of this have given a definite time-span."

Shun felt his stomach knot up a bit. What if his blood didn't take effect fast enough? What if she died before it had a chance to heal her? What if he didn't give her enough of his blood? Shun felt his anxiety mount as the seconds went by. That anxiety and worry shattered though when he heard Alice cough. He turned and looked at her with wide eyes. "Alice? Alice, can you hear me? Alice?" he asked frantically.

Loran had joined her side again as well and was examining the wound on her abdomen. He carefully removed the blood-stained fabric from the wound, which was practically stuck to Alice's skin. Loran's eyes then lit up, and a small smile played on his lips. "The wounds closing up. It's healing. It worked, Shun, it worked!" the gray-haired Vampire said with excitement, and perhaps a bit of relief as well.

Shun moved his gaze from the wound on her abdomen and back to her face. He saw as her eyes slowly opened up halfway, and relief flooded into him. "Thank goodness," Shun said breathlessly. Alice looked up at him with glazed-over, distant eyes. She then brought up her hand, which was covered with her blood, and touched the side of Shun's face, as if to see if he were really there.

Her hand then dropped back by her side, and her eyes closed. "Alice? Hey, Alice?" Shun asked and felt his panic starting to grow. Loran quickly told him, "Calm down. Her wound in already completely healed up. She's just tired and drained from all of this. A good rest and she'll probably be back to normal in no time." The mounting panic that Shun had felt quickly died down upon hearing those words.

There was then the sound of footsteps approaching them, and Shun turned around to find Alucard and Sinclair had found them. The Vampire Lord walked up to them and said, "There you are. Alucard and I saw you bolt off back there after I announced to the Clan that Alexander had been defeated and followed after you." Sinclair's eyes then drifted over to Loran. "Ah, so this is where you were too. Some of us were starting to worry and think you might have perished in the fight."

Loran shook his head and said, "No, Sir. I assure you I am alive and well. But you mentioned Alexander was defeated? This means we won, right?" Sinclair nodded. His eyes then shifted over to Alice, who still lay on the ground unconscious. Shun saw a flash of recognition in the Vampire Lord's eyes. "That's that girl that you brought to the enclave, isn't it?" Sinclair asked.

Shun nodded and said, "It is, Sir. She stumbled upon the fighting earlier and nearly got herself killed, so I made Loran take her somewhere safe." Sinclair continued to look Alice over. He finally said, "She's covered in her own blood but I see no wounds on her."

Loran quickly spoke up and explained, "You see, while I was trying to get us to safety, we were ambushed, and she got injured trying to save me from our attacker. As for the wounds, when Shun showed up here and found her, I mentioned to him about the old stories of humans consuming the blood of a Vampire to heal their wounds and illnesses. And apparently the stories were true."

Sinclair's eyes widened a bit in surprise as he turned to Shun. "You let her drink your blood?" he asked. Shun nodded and told him defiantly, "Yes. I wasn't about to give up the only chance I had to save her." Shun didn't care if this was something that the Vampire Lord was going to disprove of; Alice meant too much to him just to let her slip away.

Alucard placed a hand on Sinclair's shoulder and said in a reassuring tone, "Sir, we really don't have to worry too much about this little matter. It's not like he's taken any of her blood. If he had, then we might have had a bit of a problem on our hands."

Worry started to build up in Shun. They would have a problem if he had taken blood from Alice? He adverted his gaze away from the Vampire Lord and second-in-command while he tried to figure out what kind of trouble would be caused by him drinking Alice's blood, and then allowing her to take some of his to save her life. Shun suddenly felt Sinclair's cold eyes fall on him.

"You've taken blood from this girl?" the Vampire Lord asked angrily. Shun slowly returned his gaze to Sinclair and felt as though he were now underneath a microscope, being looked at closely and examined on a molecular level. "He did, Sir, but it was only in an emergency from what the girl told me," Loran said quickly.

Shun was somewhat surprised to know that Alice had told Loran about that time when he taken blood from her. Then again, it might not have been helped at the time. Sinclair's eyes flashed with rage. "You knew and allowed him to let her drink his blood!" the Vampire Lord snapped. Loran flinched back and asked defensively, "What's the harm! She would have died if he hadn't done what he did!"

Sinclair growled and ran a hand through his hair and said harshly, "Do you not know what happens whenever a human and Vampire consume each other's blood? An Imprint is formed, you fool!" Shun raised an eyebrow in confusion. _Imprint? What the hell is that? _he thought to himself. Whatever it was, one had apparently formed between him and Alice now, and Sinclair didn't seem too pleased about it. Loran's expression suggested that he was just as confused as Shun was.

Sinclair growled in aggravation and said, "An Imprint is a sort of bond between a human and Vampire that is formed whenever they consume each other's blood. With an Imprint, a Vampire can only consume the blood of the person they are Imprinted with. Any other blood will be rejected by their body. This is why Imprints are detrimental to Vampires! If they cannot get in contact with the person they are connected to when they need to feed, then they fall into Bloodlust and will seek out blood. But since they can't have any other blood except from the person they are Imprinted with, they reject it all and ultimately can starve to death! This is why Imprints are strictly forbidden in the eyes of the Society!"

The weight of this finally hit on Shun. He could only drink Alice's blood. If he had any other, it would make him sick; his body would reject it. And even though Shun had craved her blood since first tasting it, he still didn't like the thought of drinking her blood and possibly hurting her in the process. Now, he had no choice.

It was either drink her blood, or fall into Bloodlust and starve himself to death. But he hadn't known this would happen, and neither had Loran. They couldn't be blamed for this when they had no knowledge of the consequences, right? "How can I get rid of the Imprint?" Shun asked.

He didn't know how Alice would react to knowing that she was now his only source of blood. She might end up hating him for it. So, if there was any way for him to get rid of it, he wanted to know it. Sinclair shot a glare over at Shun and told him, "The only way to break an Imprint is for one of the two involved in it to die."

Shun felt as though the world had just stopped. One of them would have to die for the Imprint to be broken? Shun didn't want Alice to die, and he certainly didn't want to die himself. But he also didn't want to put Alice through the pain of having to be his source of blood.

Although, he was sure that she would say she didn't mind, but how was he supposed to know if whether or not that was the truth? And what if Shun was unable to stop himself from taking too much blood from Alice like last time? He could have killed her because he hadn't been able to stop himself from drinking her blood.

Sinclair sighed heavily and said, "Just head back to the enclave. Take her with you and find her a room to stay in until she wakes up. I have to go and make sure that Alexander is delivered to the Society." The Vampire Lord turned on his heels and started back down the alley.

Alucard began to follow after him, but Sinclair stopped and told him, "No, go with them back to the enclave. You've done enough for tonight, Alucard. You deserve a break. Don't worry, I can handle this on my own." Alucard nodded and said, "Of course, Sir." Sinclair nodded and vanished in the shadows of the alley. Shun adverted his gaze down to the ground.

The previous weight that had been taken off his shoulders when he realized Alice would be alright, was suddenly placed back on them with the weight of their Imprint. Shun sighed heavily and ran a hand through his black hair. Loran walked up beside him and said, "I'm sorry about this. I really am." Shun smiled sadly and said, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know either, so I don't blame you for anything, Loran."

The gray-haired Vampire nodded and glanced back over at Alice. "I just….I found out how much you meant to her and vice versa, and I didn't want anything to happen to her because of that. I didn't want to know what kind of pain you would go through if you lost her. She's kind too. I can see why you care so much about her." Shun looked at Loran in surprise; he didn't expect to hear this from the gray-haired Vampire, so he didn't know how to respond. Loran then let out a sigh and said, "Well, what's important is that we're all alive, right?"

Shun didn't have to know what to say to respond to this. The raven-haired teen nodded and said, "Yeah, that's the most important thing right now." Loran smiled and looked back over at where Alice still lay. He then said, "Well, guess we better get her to the enclave so she can rest. I'll help you carry her if you want."

Shun smiled. "Thanks," the raven-haired teen said, "But I think I can carry her on my own." Loran nodded in understanding and started to head back towards the enclave. And once Shun had gathered Alice in his arms, he followed soon after.

* * *

Back! Well, the first two days of band camp went over well (other than it being hotter than Hades out there). But by the looks of it, our freshmen are doing pretty good, and our music is going great! I might be able to upload tomorrow if I don't have anything to do. Also, check out the poll on my profile. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~


	56. Words Of Unease

_~O~_

Sinclair retraced his steps through the alleyways and back to where he had left Alexander. As he walked, the Vampire Lord found himself falling into another rant. "As if the drug-use wasn't enough, now I find out that he's Imprinted with a human. Makes me wonder what other idiotic things that fool has done," Sinclair said aloud to himself.

He sighed heavily, coming to the conclusion that sometimes things just happen; all they could do now was to push on through and deal with it. But that still didn't do much to quell Sinclair's anger. He was still thoroughly displeased in knowing that Shun had taken blood from a human, which was one of the few rules that the Vampire Lord had in effect for his Clan.

_There are what, three or four rules at the most? And he's pretty much broken every one of them! _Sinclair growled in aggravation. Perhaps throwing Alexander to the Society would ease some of his grief. The thought was satisfying enough to bring a small grin to the Vampire Lord's lips. Sinclair rounded the corner to the alley that he had left Alexander in, but stopped dead in his tracks; Alexander was gone.

Panic started to build up within Sinclair. Maybe he had gone down the wrong alleyway, seeing as many of them all looked alike. But when he saw the damage from their fight on the surrounding walls, Sinclair knew that he was in the right place. _I had left him right here! Where is he?! _

Completely dumbfounded as to where his prisoner might have gone, Sinclair walked up and down several alleyways in search of Alexander, but there wasn't even so much as a trace of him anywhere. _Did he break the hold I placed on his mind? No, I don't think he would have had the power to do something like that. Then where the hell is he?! _Sinclair shook his head in disbelief.

He had finally had Alexander in his grasp, and somehow he had gotten away. The Vampire Lord slammed his fist into the brick wall of a building, knocking loose some of the brittle cement that held it all together. The rough exterior of the bricks bit into his knuckles, breaking the skin and drawing blood from the Vampire Lord.

Sinclair drew his hand back and stared down at the scrapes and blood as it slowly oozed out of the minor wounds. He then brought his hand up near his mouth and licked the cuts, tasting the coppery-taste of his own blood. The wounds then sealed up right before his very eyes.

The taste of his own blood had also reminded Sinclair just how thirsty for more of the crimson liquid he really was; it had been a long night filled with fighting, so he was in much need of a glass or two. He sighed heavily and glanced back down the alley that he had left Alexander in. He stared at where the enemy Vampire had laid unconscious after being knocked out by Sinclair's powers.

_Where could he have gone? _the Vampire Lord kept thinking to himself. Sinclair turned on his heels and started to leave the scene. He knew he would have to tell his Clan of Alexander's disappearance eventually, but he decided against it that night; the Clan was celebrating their victory against Alexander, and Sinclair didn't want to spoil the mood.

_I'll probably mention it to Alucard when I get back to the enclave, though. _Alucard would keep Alexander's disappearance a secret until told otherwise, so Sinclair had no worries of his second-in-command babbling it to anyone else. What the Vampire Lord was worried about, though, was what kind of plan of action they would have to take afterwards in order to relocate Alexander.

For all Sinclair knew, Alexander might have already been out of the city by now and running off somewhere else; they might never find Alexander again. Sinclair grew agitated at the thought. He had dealt enough with Alexander the past month or so to just allow the Vampire to slip through his fingers like this.

"This really pisses me off," Sinclair blurted out with a sigh. But for the time-being, there was nothing he could do other than wait. The Vampire Lord ran a hand through his hair and continued on his way back to the enclave.

_~O~_

Alucard sipped blood from the chalice in his hands and watched as the other Clan members celebrated with their own glasses of blood. Clinks of metal and glass could be heard throughout the enclave as toasts were made in honor of their victory.

On top of that was the light bouncing of laughter and chatter that seemed to float about in the air; Alucard didn't think he had ever seen the Clan in such high-spirits before. It was almost enough to make his own mood lighten a bit too. But the second-in-command kept his composure neutral as always.

He didn't really want to join in the celebration's laughter or small-talk, but rather just stand off to the side and watch. Alucard tipped his glass back and took another sip of blood just as Loran appeared by his side. "I've got all of those with serious injuries taken care of right now," the gray-haired Vampire informed him.

Alucard glanced down at Loran and noted the dried blood on the young Vampire's clothes and hands. While everyone else had been celebrating once they got back to the enclave, Loran had been hard at work treating the Clan members with injuries that needed to be desperately tended to.

Alucard nodded and said, "That's good. Does it look like they will all recover?" Loran ran a hand through his ash-colored hair and replied with, "I think so, but I'm not going to make any promises." The gray-haired Vampire closed his eyes, let out a heavy sigh, and added, "I've also got Shun resuming his treatments for his addiction, and that girl with him, Alice, is in a room of her own and resting as well."

Alucard nodded and noted just how drained Loran looked. The gray-haired Vampire had dark circles under his eyes, and his face appeared to be lacking a bit of color that it should have normally had. The second-in-command handed of his chalice of blood to Loran and said, "Here, drink some and call it a day before you drop from exhaustion."

Loran pushed the chalice away and said, "No, I'm fine. There's still a lot I have to do. I need to go back in a few minutes and check on some of the Clan members' wounds and make sure they're starting to heal. I also need to keep a constant check and make sure no signs of Blight might be manifesting late. There's no time for me to call it a day just yet. But thank you for the offer."

Loran started to walk off, but Alucard placed his hand on the gray-haired Vampire's shoulder and halted him. "Take a break, Loran. If you drop from exhaustion then you really won't be able to help anyone. Just lay down for a while. I'll go around and keep an eye on the injured in the meantime," Alucard said sternly.

Loran looked at the second-in-command in surprise; he obviously didn't expect this from Alucard. And who could blame him? Alucard had been cold and harsh to Loran for years, so suddenly showing any form of concern towards the gray-haired Vampire might have been considered a bit out of character.

But in the past months, Alucard had come to appreciate Loran and realized that the young Vampire wasn't as bad as he thought. Especially since Loran had stitched up an injury that Alucard had obtained a while back and had kept the second-in-command's bloodline a secret.

Besides, as second-in-command, it was Alucard's job to take matters into his own hands whenever Sinclair wasn't around to. And even he could see that Loran needed to take a break. "Are you sure?" Loran asked skeptically. Alucard nodded and told him, "I can handle keeping an eye on the injured, but for right now, you need to rest. You're crucial right now, and if you're unable to do your work because you're too tired, then what are we going to do?" Loran seemed to think this over for a moment.

He finally told Alucard, "Alright, I get what you're saying. A good rest will probably do me some good anyway after such a long and stressful night. Thanks." Loran then turned on his heels and headed down one of the cavernous hallways to his room.

Alucard sighed heavily and decided to go on ahead and check on the injured Clan members. He knew that there were a good many that had been injured enough to be treated, so he wanted to go on ahead and get a head-start, while also seeing just how many he would have to keep an eye on. But Alucard stopped right as he was about to head down the hallway when he saw Sinclair enter back into the enclave.

Nobody else seemed to notice the Vampire Lord enter; they were all too focused with their celebration. But Alucard saw that Sinclair didn't seem to be in light-spirits like everyone else. In fact, the Vampire Lord seemed more angry than anything. _Maybe handing over Alexander to the Society didn't go as planned, _he thought to himself.

It then crossed Alucard's mind that it was a bit early for Sinclair to be back; it should have at least been later in the morning time for the Vampire Lord to return from the Society. _Something's not right. _Sinclair headed down the hallway that led to his study, and Alucard quickly chased after him.

"Sir!" the second-in-command called out from a distance. Sinclair stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Ah, Alucard, good. I wanted to speak to you, so this works out. Follow me to my study, then," the Vampire Lord said flatly.

There wasn't the enthusiasm in Sinclair's voice that Alucard felt like there should have been; they did just defeat Alexander, after all. The second-in-command followed the Vampire Lord into the study. The moment that Sinclair cleared the door, he went over to the crystal bottle he kept filled with blood and poured himself a glass.

Alucard watched as the Vampire Lord threw the glass back and killed the blood in it in one go. Sinclair then slammed the empty glass down on the surface of his desk with enough force that it surprised Alucard that it didn't shatter. Sinclair leaned over his desk for a moment, then ran a hand through his golden-hair and began to laugh humorlessly.

"He got away. The bastard got away," the Vampire Lord said flatly, despite the fact that he was laughing. Alucard felt his eyes grow wide. "Wait, Alexander got away? How? You had him knocked unconscious! He shouldn't have been able to wake up!" Sinclair straightened up and shook his head as he continued to laugh. "That's what I don't understand either, Alucard. But the only thing I can figure is that somebody must have found him and been able to break through my hold on Alexander's mind. That's the only way I can make sense of it," Sinclair said and picked up the empty crystal glass, "I need another."

He then turned around and went back to the bottle of blood and filled his glass up again. Normally, Alucard would say something to Sinclair, like tell him to go easy on how much blood he consumes. But it was clear that the Vampire Lord was tired and troubled, so Alucard remained silent on the subject.

"What do we do then, Sir?" the second-in-command asked. Sinclair sat down in the chair behind his desk and drank the blood from his glass.

"Right now, I don't think there is much we can do other than wait for Alexander to make another move, and I know he will. He's going to want revenge on us still, so it will only be a matter of time before he sticks his head out. But in the meantime, don't mention this to any of the other Clan members just yet. At least, not until I say otherwise. I don't want to ruin their good time," Sinclair said and finished off his second glass of blood.

Alucard nodded in understanding; even troubled, Sinclair was thinking of his Clan. The second-in-command ran a hand through his black hair and said, "Well, I promised Loran I would keep an eye on the injured while he rested, so I better go and keep my word."

Alucard started to leave the study, but stopped when Sinclair said, "I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen soon…..That more blood is going to spilled…." Sinclair's words sent a bit of a chill down Alucard's spine. "Well," he said and smiled nervously, "Let's hope that your feeling is wrong, right?"

It was Alucard's attempt to get over Sinclair's haunting words of foreworn, to erase that chill that still hung around on his spine. Sinclair nodded and sloshed around the blood in his third glass. "Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm probably just exhausted after tonight and thinking crazy things. Please, go on about with what you were doing, Alucard," Sinclair said and finished off his third glass.

Alucard nodded and left out of the study to go and check in on the injured Clan members for Loran. As he walked, he just couldn't shake Sinclair's words. It had been something about how the Vampire Lord said them, something that made Alucard feel uneasy. Perhaps with Alexander's disappearance, something would happen.

Like Sinclair said, it was almost guaranteed that Alexander would come back into the picture eventually. _Maybe that's what's got Sinclair all worked up…..Or maybe he is just tired from his fight and not thinking straight…._Alucard pushed his thoughts out of his mind; he had other things to worry about at the moment, like checking on the injured.

But even as he tried to keep his mind on other things, Sinclair's words seemed to haunt him. Why was he so bothered by it? Was it possible that Alucard felt as though something bad was coming as well? The second-in-command stopped walking and thought about what could possibly end up being worse than what they went through that night.

Nothing really came to his thoughts, and yet, in his mind, there seemed to be a storm that loomed over the horizon, bringing with it something horrible that they would have to face in the near future. But Alucard knew that whatever may come their way, they would fight it and face it as one, just as they did everything else.

They would always stand against their challenges in unity; that night proved this to be true. And with this little realization, Alucard felt a bit more at ease and less bothered by Sinclair's words. Although, they still lingered in the back of his mind, reminding him that they were still there, that the possibility of a new problem could still arise, one that nobody would see coming.

* * *

I didn't realize until a little while ago that this would be the last chapter, seeing as all of my ideas I have now are better suited for the sequel. So, odds are **the sequel will be posted on Thursday**, maybe a day or so before then if I feel like writing after band camp. It was difficult to write out this chapter and have it lead up to the sequel, so i'm sorry if it might not be all that great at the end. Anywho, I hope you did enjoy this chapter and this story, and **I do hope that I get great reviews and such on the sequel from faithful and future readers!** And don't worry, the sequel will have a good amount of ShunxAlice in it. ;) **Check out the poll on my profile as well**. Thank you all for supporting me through this story! Your reviews/favorites/etc. mean the world to me and keep my writing! Thank you all once again, and read and leave a review on the way out! ~Copperpelt~


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